n 


Lib.  AGRIC.  DEPT, 


1 


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ADDRESSES 

AGRiCULTURAI 
LIBRARY, 
DELIVERED  AT  THE         I    "UNIVERSITY 


ANNUAL  MEETING         .    CALIFORNIA. 


OF  THE 


Ohio  State  Board  of 
Agriculture      __ 


COLUMBUS 
JANUARY  10  AND  11 


1912 


Columbus,  Ohio 
The  F.  J.  Heer  Printing  Co. 

1912 


^ 


^\ 


V' 


Boost   Ohio. 


The  Ohio  State  Board  of  Agricukiire  held  its  most  successful  annual 
meeting,   at   Columbus,  January   lo  and   ii. 

The  Central  Idea  of  the  entire  program  was  an  appreciation  of  the 
virtues  and  resources  of  the  "Buckeye  State." 

In  talent  and  personality,  those  persons  on  the  program,  are  not  excel- 
led.    Their  -enthusiasm  in  a  good  cause  is  easily  a  virtue. 

Governors,  Ambassadors,  College  Presidents,  and  other  great  leaders 
of  thought,  helped  to  fling  more  widely  the  Battle  Line  of  Agriculture. 

The  onward  march  of  the  Ohio  Farmer  was  given  added  momentum, 
by  reminding  him,  that  not  far  away,  but  right  here  at  home  he  can 
shake  hands  with  "Golden  Opporunity." 

"Stay  in  Ohio"  and  "Boost  Ohio"  are  to  be  the  texts  of  the  future, 
for  all  who  love  their  native  state  and  ever  called  Ohio  "Home." 

The  attendance  was  an  inspiration  to  all  the  speakers.  The  addresses 
of  such  merit  as  to  justify  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  in  comply- 
ing with  many  requests  for  publication,  and  which  are  herewith  sub- 
mitted. 

Respectfully, 


Secretary 


2li'2432 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS. 

By    President   C.    H.    Gaxson, 
Urhana,    Ohio. 

At  our  annual  meeting  it  is  customary  for  the  President  to  make  an  adrress, 
stating  the  condition  of  affairs  pertaining  to  past  and  present  work  of  the  State 
Board  of  xA.griculture.  The  President  would  not  be  able  to  do  this  except  for 
the  kindness  and  help  of  the  Secretary.  I  have  asked  the  Honorable  A.  P. 
Sandles.  our  very  efficient  Secretary,  who  has  at  his  comand  the  data  of  all 
work  of  our  Board,  to  briefly  outline  what  we  are  attempting  in  the  interest 
of  agriculture.  He  is  an  inveterate  as  well  as  an  earnest  worker ;  has  the  interest 
of  the  farmers  at  heart;  and  has  kindly  consented  to  prepare  and  present  a^ state- 
ment which  will  be  much  more  to  the  point  than  I  can  make.  '  He  understands 
the  business  and  is  today  one  of  the  best  State  Fair  .Secretaries  in  the  United 
States,  is  all  wool  and  a  yard  wide.  It  is  a  pleasure  for  any  Board  to  have  the 
services  of  such  a  Secretary.  Close  attention  paid  to  his  remarks  will  inform 
this   convention   of   our  work. 

With  the  assistance  and  advice  ,of  the  farmers'  friend,  Governor  Harmon, 
A.  P.  Sandles  and  other  broad  minded  men,  agriculture  has  made  rapid  strides, 
and  today  the  farmer  need  not  take  a  back  seat.  He  is  not  called  the  "Old  Hay 
Seed,"  but  a  man  of  affairs  with  a  profession  second  to  none.  The  successful 
farmer,  and  all  can  be  successful  (as  the  word  "can't"  should  not  be  m  the 
farmer's  dictionary)  should  and  does  feel  that  his  calling  is  the  best  and  most 
useful  of  all  professions  as  well  as  the  most  independent.  The  farmer  need 
play  second  fiddel  to  none,  especially  the  Ohio  farmer,  as  Ohio  is  one  of  the 
best  agricultrral  states  in  the  Union.  It  is  the  garden  spot,  with  its  good  roads, 
good  water  and  diversity  of  first  class  soils.  We  should  be  proud  of  our  grand 
old  state.     Let   us   BOOM   OHIO. 

We  have  one  of  the  best  and  grandest  State  Fairs  in  the  Union.  T^he  past 
year  was  it  banner  year.  Profit  certified  into  the  state  treasury  amounted  to 
approximately  $20,000.  It  is  conceded  by  those  who  know  that  the  Ohio  State 
Fair  grounds  excel  in  buildings  and  beauty  any  fair  grounds  in  the  United  States. 
The  State  Fair  is  second  to  none  in  exhibits.  It  is  educational  as  well  as  at- 
tractive. The  "No  Pass  System"'  was  inaugurated  at  the  last  State  Fair,  and  the 
attendance  and  receipts  are  the  proper  answer  to  its  workings.  Complaints 
were  not  had  from  people  who  patronize  the  Fair  from  year  to  year  and  pay 
their  admissions.  It  is  admitted  that  the  pass  question  may  have  two  sides  and 
be  hard  to  adjust,  but  to  be  fair  with  the  people  all  should  be  placed  on  the  same 
footing.  The  Ohio  State  Fair  is  being  well  patronized,  and  the  management 
hopes  to  make  it   worthy   of   commendation   and  patronage. 

-  W^e  should  have  nothing  but  praise  for  Ohio  and  her  agricultural  institu- 
tions, -  which  include  the  Ohio  State  University,  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station,  the  Farmers'  Congress,  Farmers'  Institutes,  County  Fairs  and  the 
different  branches  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  Running  of  agricultural 
trains  by  the  diffcrert  railroads  is  to  be  commended  and  the  service  of  the  rail- 
roads appreciated.  The  service  rendered  by  speakers  on  the  tra'ns  has  been 
very  useful.  Alore  than  forty  thousand  farmers  have  attended  the  train  meet- 
ings and  have  been  benefited  by  the  talks.  It  is  an  education  along  the  lines  of 
the  best  methods   in   agriculture. 

(o) 


3      » 

*  S  -•       *•  o    •    -s»   J    *Ji  ,j      e 

^       o  •     Xf       a    P'   «   %/ 

6  ^  ADDRESSES 

Farmers'  Institutes  and  scliobls  are  working  wonders  in  the  way  net  only 
of  education,  but  in  exchange  of  ideas  and  a  closer  relation  of  friendship  between 
our  citizens.  The  state  law  authorizes  four  institutes  to  each  county.  They  have 
been  so  useful  and  popular  that  counties  are  wanting  more  and  many  counties 
have  independent  institutes. 

The  State  Board  of  Agriculture  has  been  pushing  work  on  the  Serum 
Farm,  and  in  another  year  expects  to  be  in  position  to  handle  the  output  of 
serum  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  farmers.  From  the  good  work  the  serum  has 
done  in  the  past,  we  have  no  doubt  but  that  hog  cholera  will  be  so  much  lessened 
that  the  breeders  and  dealers  will  have  little  fear  of  this  plague.  They  will  know 
that  a  proper  treatment  with  serum  will  make  the  pigs  immune.  Dr.  Fischer, 
State  Veterinarian,  has  t4ie  serum  proposition  in  charge.  He  understands  his 
occupation  thoroughly.  There  is  no  harder  student  than  he,  and  no  veterinarian 
his   superior. 

Fertilizer  inspection  has  been  satisfactory  during  the  past  year.  The  Nursery 
and  Orchard  Division  has  been  doing  good  work.  The  Live  Stock  Division  — 
in   fact  all   divisions  of  the   State   Board  of  Agriculture  are   doing  a  good  work. 

The  farmer  is  the  bone,  sinew  and  muscle  of  the  country.  Agriculture  as 
a  profession  is  the  most  useful  of  all  the  professions.  As  a  class,  the  farmers 
are  the  most  independent  and  as  a  rule  enjoy  life  mo3t.  When  it  comes  to  an 
election  on  important  questions,  the  rural  districts  are  generally  on  the  right 
side  and  often  turn  the  tide  for  the  betterment  of  the  country.  The  agriculturist 
is  on  top.  He  has  learned  the  lesson  of  his  position  and  learned  it  well.  He 
has  gained  in  knowledge  of  soil  fertility  and  rotation  of  crops  and  in  the  breed- 
ing and  care  of  stock  until  today  the  farmer  is,  indeed,  to  be  envied.  Our  soil, 
with  the  knowledge  we  are  gaining  and  putting  into  practice,  will  support  our 
growing  population.     Let  us  keep  abreast  of  the  times  and  improve  our  chances. 

The  lessons  that  we  may  learn  by  a  careful  study  of  such  institutions  as 
the  Ohio  State  University,  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station,  the  Ohio  State  Fair, 
the  county  fair,  as  well  as  other  useful  state  institutions,  will  be  very  useful  to 
us  all.  We  should  lend  our  aid  to  all  institutions  connected  with  agriculture. 
We  should  boom  Ohio;  boom  agriculture;  boom  your  State  Fair  and  other  agri- 
cultural industries.  While  we  are  gaining  knowledge  in  our  vocations  on  the 
farm  and  putting  our  knowledge  into  practice  by  raising  better  crops,  better 
stock  and  by  improving  our  condition  in  many  ways,  we  must  not  forget  the 
importan  part  of  farm  life  —  our^  homes.  Our  good  wives,  who  make  our  homes 
pleasant,  must  be  thought  of,  cared  for  and  appreciated.  They  are  interested. 
To  them  we  may  largely  credit  our  success.  Let  us  make  our  homes  what  they 
should  be  in  doing  our  duty  by  our  families,  who,  as  a  rule,  will  prefer  the 
country  to  the  city.  Let  us  remember  the  old  saying,  "Woman's  work  is  never 
done."  We  can  materially  lessen  their  labors  by  appreciating  their  service  with 
help  and  kindness,  and  with  beautifying  home  and   its   surroundinfys. 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  FARM  LIFE. 

By  Presidext  Charles  William  Dabney, 
University   of    Cincinnati. 

This  is  not  to  be  a  sermon,  although  I  shall  take  as  a  text  these  words  of 
the  "Father  of  his  Country"  : 

"I  know  of  no  pursuit  in  which  more  real  and  important  service  can  be 
rendered   to  any   country   than   by   improving   its   agriculture." 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE.  7 

Soldier  and  statesman,  though  he  was,  George  Washington  was  first  of 
all  a  farmer.  Founder  and  builder  of  the  nation  he,  taught  that  agriculture 
was  to  be  its  chief  support  through  all  the  ages.  He  says :  "In  proportion  as 
nations  advance  in  population  and  other  circumstances  of  maturity,  the  primary 
importance  of  agriculture  becomes  apparent  and  renders  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  more  and  more  an  object  of  public  patronage." 

Believing  this,  what  would  the  "Father  of  his  Country"  think  if  he  came 
back  to  us  today  and  learned  the  ratio  of  our  agricultural  population  to  our  other 
populations?  What  would  he  think  if  he  found  that  the  agricultural  population 
of  the  country,  which  was  96  in  100  in  his  day,  had  dwindled  to  52  in  100  in 
qualities  the  case  is  quite  different. 

our  day?  Even  in  this  great  agricultural  state  of  Ohio,  the  rural  population, 
which  in  1890  amounted  to  50  per  cent  of  the  total  population  of  the  entire 
state,  decreased  in  1900  to  42  per  cent,  and  in  1910  to  35  per  cent.  To  put  it 
another  way,  whereas  the  total  population  of  Ohio  increased  about  15  per  cent 
and  the  urban  population  increased  30  per  cent  for  each  decade  above,  the  rural 
population  actually  decreased  4  per  cent  the  first  decade  and  6^  per  cent  the 
second  decade.  The  census  brings  us  the  same  story  from  all  the  older  portions 
of  the  country.  Everywhere  the  urban  population  is  increasing  ahead  of  the 
rural,  and  in  most  of  the  old  states  the  total  rural  population,  just  as  in  Ohio, 
is  steadily  decreasing.  More  ominous  than  the  trust  menace,  the  currency  ques- 
tion,, or  the  labor  problem,  is  this  drift  of  the  people  away  from  the  farm ;  for, 
as  Mr.  James  J.  Hill  puts  it,  "Land  -without  population  is  a  wilderness,  and 
population   without   land   is    a   mob." 

The  resources  of  our  soil  and  climate  are  limitless  and  unsurpassed  by 
those  of  any  other  country  in  the  world,  yet,  for  some  reason,  the  young  people 
in  all  the  older  states  are  escaping  from  the  farm  Why?  —  because  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  town  are  greater  than  those  of  the  country.  How  to  change  this 
condition  is  the  question  of  the  hour.  Even  if  there  are  still  enough  people  in 
the  country  to  produce  all  the  food  needed,  and  although  the  relative  size  of 
the  two  classes  of  population  does  not  as  yet  disturb  our  national  life  very 
seriously,  still  we  must  be  deeply  concerned  to  ascertain  the  causes  which  have 
thus  upset  the  economic  and  social  co-ordination  of  these  two  important  parts 
of    our    civilization. 

Daniel  Webster  once  said,  "Farmers  are  the  founders  of  civilization  and 
prosperity" ;  and  it  has  been  the  proud  boast  of  America  that  the  farmer  occupied 
the  highest  position  of  independence.  Is  the  farmer  now  to  become  submerged 
in  the  social  order  and  form  only  an  underlying  straturn?  He  must  always  be 
the  foundation,  but  is  he  to  be  rammed  down  below  the  surface  and  become  a 
mere  mud-sill?  This,  and  not  the  matter  of  his  relative  numbers,  is  the  crux 
of  this  question. 

It  has  always  been  true  that  one  type  of  men  gathers  in  the  cities,  while 
another  grows  up  in  the  country.  There  have  always  been  two  classes  in  human 
society :  one  the  collective  and  the  oth.er  the  individualistic.  Heretofore,  in  our 
civilization,  the  farmer,  the  representative  of  the  individualistic  class,  has  steadily 
developed  the  greatest  power,  and  has,  therefore,  maintained^  his  own  in  the 
republic.  Have  the  city  men,  the  representatives  of  the  collective  class,  now  com- 
bined to  put  him  down?     What's  the  matter  with  the  farmer? 

If  the  city  lives  on  the  country,  the  country  should  logically  be  able  to  con- 
trol; but,  as  our  life  is  organized  today,  our  cities,  like  cuttlefish  with  their  great 
tentacles  spread  out  in  every  direction,  are  sucking  the  life  out  of  the  regions 
around  them.  The  weakness  of  our  civilization  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  city  and 
the  country  seem  to  be,  temporarily  at  least,  opposed  in  their  economic  interests. 


3  •  .  ADDRESSES 

Thus  it  is  coming  more  and  more  to  be  a  story  of  fat  cities  and  lean  country. 
Must  this  be  so  necessarily  and  always? 

The  relative  loss  of  population  by  the  country  threatens  every  business  and 
every  interest.  Land  values  decrease,  other  farmers  move  away,  the  young  people 
drift  to  the  cities,  stores  and  dwellings  become  vacant,  schools  and  churches 
dwindle,  until  finally  all  life  and  enterprise  drop  into  decay.  Witness  the  aban- 
doned farms  in  New  England  and  in  New  York;  witness  the  rural  schools  with 
their  diminishing  attendance;  witness  the  pastorless  churches  in  the  country; 
and,  worst  of  all.  witness  the  decay  of  manhood  itself  in  some  of  our  country 
districts ! 

This,  I  say,  is  the  question  of  the  hour.  How  shall  we  restore  the  balance 
between  the  urban  and  the  rural  forces?  Why  have  men  nowhere,  worked  out 
a  perfect  relation  betw^een  town  and  country?  A  fair  adjustment  must  be  found 
before  we  can  have  a  permanent,  happy  civilization.  Is  it  not  true  that  we 
have  developed  the  city  civilization  far  beyond  that  of  the  country?  Both  are 
necessary  adjuncts  of  human  life.  "All  political  economy,"  Mr.  Hill  says,  "rests 
upon  the  ratio  of  population  to  land  area,  the  abundance  and  value  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  soil,  and  the  proper  balance  and  inter-relation  of  different  industries." 
If  this  be  true,  surely  our  manufacturing  and  agricultural  industries  are  out  of 
balance.  Why  —  Because,  says  ]\Ir.  Hill  again^  "We  have  been  busy  as  a  nation 
helping  the  so-called  industrial  interests  of  the  country  —  in  fact,  everybody  ex- 
cept the  man  on  the  farm."  No  matter  how  high  our  culture  may  rise  in  its 
various  aspects,  until  a  proper  balance  between  the  agricultural  and  the  other 
industries  is  established,  civilization  in  America  certainly  cannot  be  perfected, 
nor  peace  between  the  classes  be  long  maintained. 

This  ominous  charge  is  not  explained  by  any  falling  off  in  agricultural 
production.  The  farmer  is  doing  his  work.  Our  total  agricultural  exports  keep 
up.  We  still  hold  our  own  in  the  world's  markets  of  the  great  staples.  With 
only  6  per  cent  of  the  world's  population,  we  produce  45  per  cent  of  the  world's 
wheat  supply  and  this  year  72  per  cent  of  the  w^orld's  cotton  —  the  greatest  crop 
ever  produced.  The  American  farmer's  total  contribution  to  the  wealth  of  the 
nation  this  year  is  nearly  ten  billion's  of  dollars.  The  trouble  is  not  with  the 
totals  of  production,  but  with  the  conditions  and  costs  of  production  in  relation 
to  prices. 

What,  then,  is  the  matter  with  agricultural  production  and  why  are  farm 
prices  not  satisfactory?  All  prices  are  relative,  and  if  the  agricultural  industry 
drags  in  a  given  community,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  something  wrong  either 
with  the  conditions  surrounding  the  farmer  and  his  family,  or  with  the  costs 
of  what  he  sells,  as  compared  with  the  prices  of  what  he  has  to  buy.  What  is 
wrong? 

In  the  opinion  of  the  best  authorities,  like  the  Country  Life  Commission-, 
things  are  wrong,  both  with  the  conditions  of  rural  life  and  with  the  farmer's 
methods,  his  costs,  and  the  rewards  of  his  labors.  Let  us  begin  our  study  with 
a  consideration  of  the  last  of  these,,  the  farmer's  rewards,  as  compared  with  his 
costs ;  then  take  up  his  methods,  and,  finally,  the  surroundings  of  his  life. 

In  our  opinion,  one  cause  of  country  depopulation  is  the  meager  share  the 
farmer  actually  receives,  or  is  allowed  to  keep,  of  the  tremendous  wealth  he 
produces.  The  cotton  planter  receives,  we  are  told,  a  larger  share  of  what  the 
consumer  pays  for  his  product  than  any  other  farmer  —  he  gets  nearly  70  per 
cent  of  the  consumer's  money.  This  is  because  cotton  is  handled  in  the  farmer's 
original  package  and  passes  directly  through  the  hands  of  the  fewest  number 
of  middlemen  to  the  manufacturers.  The  vegetable  and  fruit  grower  gets  the 
smallest  part  of  the  consumer's  money  —  only  20  per  cent.  The  patient  calcula- 
tions  of   the   agricultural    expert?    show    that,    upon   an    average,    the    farmer    gets 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE.  y 

only  35  cents  of  the  consumer's  dollar.  The  consumer  pays  today  a  higher  price 
for  beef  than  ever  before,  but,  according  to  Secretary  Wilson,  the  packers  pay 
the  farmers  for  their  cattle  barely  as  much  as  they  did  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago, 
■when  butcher's  meat  was  comparatively  cheap.  It  is  true,  no  doubt,  that  for 
most  products,  farm  prices  are  now  higher  than  for  many  years  past,  but  it 
is  universally  recognized  abo  that  everything  the  farmer  buys,  including  his 
clothing,  tools,  and  implements,  is  proportionately  higher.  The  standard  of  living 
of  his  family  has  advanced  greatly  during  recent  decades,  making  both  the  volume 
and  grade  of  his  purchases  of  manufactured  goods  and  luxuries  much  larger 
and  higher.  Owing  to  our  excessively  high  tariff,  the  American  people  are  living 
and  working  on  an  abnormally  high  level  of  costs.  In  the  last  twenty  years, 
the  costs  of  most  things  have  been  artificially  lifted;  the  manufactured  goods 
used  by  farmers  most  of  all,  and  the  farmer's  products  least  of  all.  The  farm- 
ing class,  being  imperfectly  organized,  is  thus  being  made  to  pay  tribute  to  every 
other  class,  especially  to  the  manufacturer,  the  middleman,  and  the  financier. 
This  is  shown  clearly  in  the  case  of  wool  by  the  report  of  the  Tariff  Commis- 
sion, and  is  acknowledged  by  all  schools  of  economists,  except  the  representa- 
tives of  the  favored  interests.  It  is  most  unfortunate  for  the  workers  of  America 
that  these  questions  have  always  been  decided  by  political  methods.  They  are 
not  political,  in  any  sense,  but  economic.  They  can  not,  therefore,  be  omitted 
from  any  discussion  of  agricultural  depression.  Having  stated  these  facts  in 
our  diagnosis  of  the  disease,  it  will  not  be  necessary  in  this  company  to  discuss 
further  the  remedy.  All  present,  i  am  sure,  believe  in  a  fair,  if  not  a  low, 
tariff. 

In  the-  above  statements  we  have,  I  think,  presented  to  you  the  darkest  side 
of  our  farmer's  life,  and  may  turn  now  to  look  upon  the  bright  side  of  life  in 
Ohio,  and  consider  the  measures  destined,  as  I  firmly  believe,  to  make  our 
farmer's  life  happier  and   still  brighter   every  year. 

The  first  great  truth  to  be  noted  is  that  Ohio  is  near  the  centre  of  gravity 
of  the  population,  of  the  manufacturers,  and  of  the  wealth 'and  trade  of  this 
country.  The  centres  of  gravity  of  all  these  things,  as  shown  by  the  census, 
of  the  state,  its  climate  and  resources,  make  it  forever  a  great  field  of  commerce. 

One  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this  situation  —  a  conclusion  as  certain 
as  that  growth  follows  sunshine  —  is  that  whatever  the  economic  conditions  in 
the  country  at  large  may  be  at  any  given  time,  their  results  are  bound  to  be 
most  favorable  in  a  state  located  like  ours.  If  railroads  and  trusts  oppress 
the  farmers  throughout  the  country,  coiuHtions  being  equal  all  over,  they  can 
hurt  them  less  in  Ohio,  where  the  markets  are  near  at  hand,  than  in  the  Dakotas, 
for  example,  where  all  the  farmer's  products  have  to  be  shipped  a  thousand 
miles  to  market  and  all  his  goods,  hauled  back  again  over  the  same  hundreds 
of  miles.  So  also,  if  the  tariff  takes  his  little  remaining  profits,  or  the  money 
trust  wants  his  last  -cent  in  interest,  you  may  be  sure  that  he  has,  thanks  to 
these  same  favorable  conditions,  a  good  deal  better  chance  in  Ohio  than  in  the 
Northwest.  Whatever  the  advantages  from  these  general  economic  conditions 
and  laws,  the  Ohio-  farmer  is  certain  to  get  a  little  more  good  out  of  them, 
and  whatever  the  disadvantages,  they  are  sure  to  bear  less  heavily  upon  him 
than  upon  his  brother  in  those  distant  states.  All  economic  laws  are  bound, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things,  to  favor  you  here  for  many  years  to  come.  This 
is  as  certain  as  the  laws   of  nature.     Then  stay  in   Ohio ! 

This  great  central  trade  state,  with  its  urban  population  constantly  increas- 
ing, with  its  large  mining  and  manufacturing  interests,  and  its  thousands  of 
miles  of  railroads  running  through  it  in  every  direction,  also  offers  many  oppor- 
tunities, scarcely  dreamed  of  as  yet,  for  agricultural  development.  By  way  of 
illustration,    let    me    speak    of    the    opportunities    for   co-operation,    especially    for 


10  ADDRESSES 

co-operative  marketing  of  products,  offered  the  farmers  of  Ohio  by  these  very 
trade  conditions.  Why  has  not  the  farmer  taken  advantage  of  the  facilities 
for  communication  and  transportation  to  make  them  serve  his  interests  more 
perfectly,  as  the  manufacturer  and  the  middleman  have  done?  For  example,  the 
either  fall  in  Ohio,  or  just  to  the  southwest.  Our  state  is  now,  therefore,  the 
central  state  of  the  Union  commercialh^  in  the  sense  that  a  large  part  of  the 
trade  of  the  country  must  pass  through  or  over  Ohio.  The  geographic  location 
manufacturer  is  using  the  telephone,  the  mails,  the  express  and  freight  lines, 
more  and  more  each  year,  to  sell  directly  to  the  farmers  and  so  increase  profits. 
Why  does  not  the  farmer  organize  in  similar  manner  to  sell  directly  to  the 
manufacturer  and  his  other  consumers?  These  facilities  are  just  as  good  for 
the  one  as  the  other.  When  one  observes  the  losing  way  in  which  most  farmers 
do  their  business  with  their  city  consumers,  one  would,  think  that  the  telephone, 
the  mail,  and  the  railroads  did  not  work  both  ways,  or,  at  least,  that  they  did 
not  work  backward  towards  town  fcr  the  farmer,  but  only  for  the  commission 
merchant.  The  trouble,  of  course,  is  that  the  farmers  are  not  organized  for 
co-operative  marketing.- 

There  are  no  better  ilhistrations  of  the  gains  of  small  farming  and  of 
co-operation  among  producers  than  those  found  in  the  experiences  of  the  farmers 
of  Denmark.  After  the  Germans  robbed  them  of  their  province  and  took  away 
their  markets  on  the  continent,  the  Danes  sank  rapidly,  3^ou  will  remember,  into 
a  condition  of  extreme  poverty.  Necessity  drove  them  to  adopt  new  methods. 
After  a  half  century  of  scientific  farming  and  co-operation,  they  are  now  the 
wealthiest  farniers  per  capita  in  the  world.  This  remarkable  change,  which,  by 
the  way,  has  been  accompanied  by  great  industrial  development  in  all  other  direc- 
tions, is  attributed  directly  to  the  improvement  of  agriculture  through  educa- 
tional methods  and   its   increased  gains  through  co-operation. 

The  Danes  have,  for  instance,  developed  scientific  dairying  and  stock  rais- 
ing in  all  its  branches.  The  government  employs  many  ex-^erts  to  instruct  the 
people  in  the  breeding  of  live  stock.  If  a  group  of  -farmers  wish  to  purchase  a 
bull,  for  example,  for  its  co-operative  society,  it  first  consults  the  government 
man.  Even  in  the  breeding  of  single  hogs  the  individual  farmer  will  consult 
the  expert.  These  experts  furnish  their  services  readily  to  the  farmers  who 
ask  them.  The  result  of  this  has  been  the  "rapid  improvement  of  live  stock  and 
a  steady  increase  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  milk  and  the  character  of 
all  dairy  products.  In  many  herds  the  quantity  of  milk  annually  given  by  each 
cow  has  been  increased  over  one  hundred  gallons.  The  Danes  attribute  much 
of  this  increase  to  their  scientific  methods  of  milking,  as  well  as  to  this  scien- 
tific breeding.  The  creameries  impose  severe  rules  upon  the  farmers  as  to  the 
methods  of  feeding  the  cows  and  of  handling  the  milk,  and  the  loyalty  of  the 
men  to  their  organizations  is  remarkable.  The  Danish  trade  in  butter  alone  — 
and  their  butter  is  considered  the  best  that  reaches  the  London  market  —  has 
multiplied  ten  times  in  twenty  years. 

Severe  economy  is  practiced  in  all  matters,  with  remarkable  results.  This 
economy  extends  even  to  the  cows,  which  are  hitched  and  required  to  graze  a 
portion  of  the  pasture  urtil  it  is  eaten  clean.  They  milk  three  times  a  day,  milk 
tests  are  systematically  applied,  and  the  cows  with  poor  records  are  discarded, 
while  the  calves  of  record  mothers  are  kept   for  the   farm. 

The  Danish  co-operative  methods  of  producirig  and  selling  are  also  most 
interesting.  The  co-operative  dairy  movement  now  includes  one  thousand  societies 
with  two  hundred  thousand  members,  and  it  delivered  last  year  over  five  billion 
pounds  of  milk,  which  produced  two  hundred  million  pounds  of  butter  worth 
sixty  millior.s  of  dollars. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE.  11 

The  increase  of  wealth  in  our  cities  insures  markets  at  the  highest  price 
here  at  home  for  milk  products  of  fine  quality,  such  as  can  only  be  produced 
with  the  help  of  modern  science.  As  Director  Thcrne  of  the  Ohio  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  testifies,  "The  dairy^man  who  can  furnish  evidence  that  his 
cattle  are  free  from  disease,  and  whose  product  shows  that  strict  attention  has 
been  paid  to  every  essential  of  cleanliness  in  production,  is  able  to  command 
very    remunerative    prices." 

Similar  co-operative  societies  market  the  eggs,  bacon,  and  lambs  of  the 
Danish  farmers.  There  are  two  poultrymen's  associations,  one  with  four  thou- 
sand, and  the  other  with  six  thousand  members.  Each  has  some  forty  centres 
for  experimentation  and  distribution  of  pure-bred  stock.  Each  week  the  associa- 
tion's collector  gathers  the  eggs,  which  must  be  marked  with  the  producer's  name, 
and  pays  on  the  spot  the  market  price  for  them.  The  man  who  delivers  stale 
eggs  is  severely  punished.  After  selection  and  careful  examination,  the  egg  is 
then  stamped  with  the  association's  stamp.  This  simple  guarantee  has  raised  the' 
price  of  hen's  eggs  in  the  English  markets  until  the  industry  now  brings  Denmark 
ten  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  Eggs  are  now  (January  10,  1912)  in  demand  in 
Cincinnati  and  Cleveland  at  40  cents  at  retail,  and  Director  Thorne  tells  me 
that  the  Ohio  station  is  selling  eggs  by  the  case  in  Pittsburg  at  45  cents  a  dozen, 
and  hot  house  lamb  at  35  cents  per  pound  dressed.  He  says :  "The  demand  for 
such  products  is  steadily  increasing,  as  is  also  our  knowledge  of  the  methods 
by  which  they  may  be  produced."  Is  there  not  a  larger  business  to  be  found 
here  ? 

Other  market  products  are  handled  by  co-operative  creameries  of  Denmark 
in  a  similar  manner.  The  Danes  no  longer  send  their  live  hogs  abroad,  but  kill,, 
cure,  and  manufacture  every  scrap  at  home,  with  the  result  that  pigs  which 
brought  Denmark  only  $7,500,000  a  few  years  ago,  now  bring  $25,000,000.  The 
Dane  believes  in  manufacturing  the  farm  products  to  the  highest  degree  before 
he  lets  them  leave  his  farm  or  co-operative  factory.  He  sells  the  finished 
product  and  not  the  raw  material,  for  he  believes  that  the  nation  which  sends 
away  its  raw  material  for  a  more  skilled  people  to  finish  is  ruined.  The  factory 
farm  and  these  co-operative  methods  are  needed  in  Ohio. 

Another  lesson  we  can  learn  from  the  Danes  is  intensive  farming  of  smaller 
areas.  We  are  still  trying  in  Ohio  to  cover  too  ixkany  acres  with  our  poor 
culture.  .  We  should  farm  only  as  many  acres  as  we  can  cultivate  in  the  best 
way,  and  no  more.  There  is,  as  we  know,  scarcely  a  limit  to  the  value  each  acre 
of  ground  may  be  made  to  produce.  Scientific  methods  and  intensive  agriculture 
are  these  days  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  farmer,  whether  they  include  the 
study  of  the  soils,  the  testing  of  seeds,  the  rotation  of  crops,  or  the  raising  of 
live  stock.  Intelligent  fertilizing  with  chemical  manures,  or  by  growing  leguminous 
plants,  the  use  of  improved  groans  and  fancy  stock  —  such  methods  are  today 
within  the  reach  of  all.  These  methods  increase  the  interest  in  farming,  as  well 
as  make  room  for  new  population,  whose  presence  and  added  product  increase 
the  opportunities  for  co-operation  and  all  forms  of  social  improvement.  The 
fruit  farmer,  the  dairy  farmer,  the  poultryman,  and  every  cultivator  who  has 
specialized  in  his  work  have  already  learned  these  principles.  Our  problem  is  to 
find  a  way  to  teach  them  to  the  half  million  or  more  farmers  in  Ohio  still 
engaged  in  general  agriculture.  Take  /corn  culture  in  Ohio  as  an  illustration. 
Corn  is  still  our  greatest  crop,  but  it  does  not  pay  very  well  to  produce  it  at 
the  rate  of  38  bushels  per  acre.  The  Experiment  Station  has  shown  that  if  we 
used  tested  seed  only  and  so  secured  a  better  stand,  we  might  increase  this  yield 
to  an  average  of  at  least  76  bushels  per  acre,  while  a  perfect  stand  of  plants, 
each  yielding  a  one-pound  ear  of  corn,  would  produce  152  bushels  per  acre. 
A  little   South   Carolina  bov   raised  over  200  bushels  of  corn  on  one  acre.     Can 


12  ADDRESSES 

not  the  Ohio  farmer  make  at  least  one-half  as  much?  Ohio  cultivates  some 
three  million  acres  of  corn  annually.  Supposing  we  added  20  bushels  only  to 
each  acre,  the  result  would  be  60,000,000  bushels  more  corn  in  Ohio  each  year, 
which  at  40  cents  a  bushel,  would  yield  a  return  of  $24,000,000.  Think  of  the 
gigantic  waste  resulting  from  the  careless  cultivation  of  too  many  acres! 

The  same  can  be  said  in  regard  to  the  waste  in  raising  poor  stock.  .  Every 
farmer  must  keep  some  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  Why  not  the  best?  No  farmer 
■can  prosper  until  stock  raising  becomes  a  considerable  part  of  his  agriculture. 
The  natural  increase  of  animals,  the  butter,  milk,  lambs,  pigs,  etc.,  sent  to  market 
add  materially  to  his  income.  A  few  forage- fed  live  stock  leave  at  least  one- 
third  of  their  value  on  the  land  in  the  form  of  manure  that  results  in  fertility 
and  keeps  the  farm  from  running  down.  Only  by  keeping  stock  can  the  farm 
be  made  and  kept  the  permanent  source  of  wealth  it  should  be.  The  keeping  of 
good  stock  throughout  the  country  creates  at  once  a  great  industry  and  makes 
opportunity  for  specialists  in  various  lines  of  stock-breeding  to  do  good  business. 
That  we  are  making  progress  in  this  line  is  well  illustrated  by  Greene  County, 
which  already  claims  to  have  a  larger  number  of  different  breeds  of  pure  bred 
stock  than  any  other  equal  area  in  the  world.  If  all  our  farmers  went  to  work 
to  improve  their  stock,  we  would  have  in  Ohio  at  least-  a  half  dozen  Greene 
Counties.  ■ 

It  is  a  narrow  view  of  agriculture,  however,  which  regards  this  great  art 
only  as  a  means  of  providing  men  with  the  simplest  means  of  existence.  We 
are  interested  in  the  progress  of  agriculture,  not  only  as  a  means  of  supplying 
the  food  necessary  for  the  increasing  peoples  of  the  earth,  but  also  as  the  art 
which  chiefly  supports  man's  advancement  along  all  lines,  intellectual  and  spiritual, 
as  well  as  physical.  ''Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone."  It  is  a  condition  of 
civilization  that  man  is  not  satisfied  with  a  mere  subsistence,,  but  that  his  wants 
increase  with  his  development.  The  modern  man  is  not  satisfied  with  the  simplest 
food,  or  the  plainest  raiment,  or  the  barest  shelter.  Because  such  food  pro- 
motes health,  happiness,  and  the  development  of  his  finer  nature,  he  wants  at- 
tractive and  delightful  food.  Hence  there  have  been  developed  the  various  special 
branches  of  agriculture  and  horticulture,  and  the  many  arts  of  milling,  manu- 
facturing, preparing,  and  preserving  the  products  of  the  soil  which  make  food 
substances  tempting  and  delicious,  as  well  as  convenient  for  use.  Americans  owe 
much  of  their  success  as  purveyors  to  their  excellent  methods  of  preparing  food 
materials  of  all  kinds,  and  to  their  skill  and  taste  in  presenting  them  to  the  public. 
It  is  not  enough  that  quantity  alone  should  be  considered,  for,  in  these  days, 
quality  plays,  increasingly,  a  part  in  food  production.  Hence  the  arts  of  producing 
choice  meats,,  cereals  of  greater  attractiveness,  etc.,  which  arts  may  properly  be 
termed  the  "higher  agriculture";  hence  also  the  practical  arts  of  wine-making 
and  canning  and  preserving  fruits,  which  may  be  considered  a  "higher  horti- 
culture." These  arts  have  all  been  developed  in  response  to  man's  demand  for 
more  refined  and  delicious  food,  a  demand  which  is  certain  to  grow  more  exact- 
ing with  the  progress  of  civilization. 

It  does  not  pay  any  longer  in  the  older  states  to  grow  the  staple  crops  exclu- 
sively and  to  sell  only  the  raw  materials  of  food.  It  may  still  pay  on  the  great 
rich  prairies,  or  in  new  agricultural  regions,  but  the  highest  profits  in  the  future 
will  come  to  those  who  produce  a  specialty,  or  manufacture  their  products  into 
the  highest  form  before  putting  them  on  the  market.  The  profits  of  the  future 
will  be  in  the  dairy  business,  the  canning  business,  or  the  business  of  preparing 
delicate  meats  for  the  richer  markets.  Through  these  and  similar  special  in- 
dustries, farm  products  are  greatly  advanced  in  value,  while  the  women  and  the 
girls   take  a  part  in  productive  work. 


ANNUAL    :MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE.  13 

We  come  thus  to  consider  the  improvement  of  the  educational  and  social 
conditions  in  the  country  as  a  means  of  keeping  the  young  people  on  the  farms. 
The  physical  discomforts  of  farm  life  have  largely  been  ameliorated  in  the 
Central  States.  As  the  farm  houses  are  rebuilt,  modern  comforts  and  conveni- 
ences are  introduced.  With  cheap  appliances  now  vi'ithin  the  reach  of  every  one, 
there  is,  for  example,  little  excuse  for  the  farmer  who  has  not  provided  his 
home  and  barn  with  running  water.  Good  roads,  rural  free  delivery  ,tele- 
phones,  automobiles,  interurban  lines,  co-operative  reading  circles,  the  new  litera^ 
ture  of  nature  and  farm,  —  and  soon,  we  hope,  the  parcels  post,  —  will  greatly 
improve  the  social  conditions  of  the  country  people.  But  there  is  still  much  to 
be  desired  in  the  way  of  community  spirit  and  of  co-operation  for  the  older 
people  and  of  social  life  and  amusement  for  the  young.  The  towns,  with  their 
amusement  parks  and  theatres,  moving  picture  shews,  and  skating  rinks,  have 
become  steadily  more  attractive,  making  the  country  appear  bare  and  lonesome 
to  the  boy  and  girl.  Their  influence  must  be  overcome  by  beautifying  the  home 
and  farm  and  by  establishing  social  centres  in  the  country.  Rural  life  must  be 
made  not  only  more  profitable  ecoromically  than  urban  life,  it  must  also  be  made 
more  humanly  interesting,  more  richly  enjoyable.  The  farm  and  the  country 
possess  all  the  elements  to  make  it  so ;  there  resources  need  only  to  be  developed. 

We  should  remember  that  the  farmers  who  desert  the  country,  often  the 
very  best  men,  do  so  in  search  of  the  higher  things  in  life  for  their  families. 
They  tear  up  their  homes  and  make  great  sacrifices  that  they  may  provide  better 
training  in  mind  and  in  spirit  for  their  children  and  better  social  privileges  for 
their  wives.  So  long  as  there  are  better  schools,  better  churches,  and  better  social 
opportunities  in  tkc  cities,  so  long  will  men  flock  into  them.  So  long  as  prac- 
tically no  literature,  art,  and  music  are  to  be  had  in  the  country,  so  long  will 
men  and  women  seek  them  where  they  are  to  be  found. 

Neither  the  state  nor  the  church  has  done  its  full  duty  by  the  farmer. 
Though  eight-tenths  of  the  preachers  and  teachers  are  reared  in  the  country, 
the  state  puts  its  best  schools  in  the  city  and  the  church  usually  sends  its  dullest 
preachers  to  the  country.  And  yet  we  look  to  the  country  to  feed  the  city  with 
its  best  blood,  brain,  and  heart !  We  draw  constantly  upon  its  sources  of  physical 
and  spiritual  sustenance,  but  make  few  plans  for  renewing  this  fountain  of  our 
life.  Let  us,  therefore,  take  stock  of  the  country's  educational  and  social  re- 
sources, as  we  have  of  its  economic  resources,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  how 
they  may  be  reorganized  and  directed  toward  a  happier  and  more  profitable 
social  end. 

The  country  school  is  to  be  a  large  factor  in  the  improvement  of  country 
life  and  the  chief  agency  in  keeping  the  youth  on  the  farm.  If  the  boys  and 
girls  are  to  be  induced  to, stay  on  the  farm,  it  will  be  done,  not  merely  be  making 
the  farm  attractive  and  remunerative,  but  by  interesting  the  youth  in  the  work  on 
the  farm.  This  can  only  be  done  by  making  that  work  intelligent.  Until  recently, 
all  our  elementary  school  courses  were  made  by  city  people  to  prepare  people 
for  city  occupations.  Even  general  subjects  are  taught  almost  exclusively  in  the 
terms  of  trade.  The  readers  and  spellers  are  filled  with  stories  of  city  life  and 
the  arithmetics  are  given  up  to  problems  of  interest  and  accounts,  wnth  no  refer- 
ence to  the  business  of  the  farmer.  The  rural  school  finds  these  courses  largely 
unadapted  to  the  needs  of  country  life.  So  far,  the  school  has  not  taken  hold  of 
country  life.  From  the  soil,  out  of  which  the  children  must  make  their  living; 
from  the  animals  they  must  rear  and  use ;  from  the  plants  they  must  cultivate 
and  the  forests  they  should  preserve;  and  even  from  the  impressive  phenomena  of 
sky  and  weather,  which  so  largely  control  the  every-day  life  and  success  of  the 
farmer,  the  school  has  not  only  stood  apart,  but  has  actually  held  the  children 
away,  while  it  stuffed  them  with  antiquated   formulas  and  useless   rules,  or  with 


24  ADDRESSES 

facts  about  the  history  and  geography  of  foreign  countries.  The  varied  resources 
and  exhaustless  charm  of  the  country  have  small  part  in  its  teachings.  Too 
often,  when  the  teacher  opens  man's  book  before  the  eyes  of  the  child,  he  closes 
to  him,  as  far  as  he  can,  the  book  of  nature.  All  schools  should  be  related  to 
the  economic  life  of  the  people  and  prepare  them  to  work  under  the  conditions 
in  which  they  must  earn  their  livelihood. 

It  is  very  fine  to  talk  about  giving  every  boy  and  girl  a  liberal  education  — 
which  means  usually  a  mere  smattering  of  a  literary  education  —  but  the  fact  re- 
mains that  the  great  majority  of  our  children  in  cities,  as  well  as  country,  leave 
school  before  they  are  fifteen,  with  little  education  of  any  kind  and  no  training 
for  re^l  life.  The  result  is  we  have  thousands  of  industrially  untrained  boys 
going  into  the  ordinary  commercial  callings,  and  few  scientific  farmers  and  engi- 
neers; and  thousands  of  young  girls  eager  to  earn  the  pitiful  pittance  of  a  sales- 
woman, while  none  can  be  found  for  well-paid  manufacturing  positions.  A  gentle- 
man in  my  city  tells  me,  for  example,  that  an  advertisement  for  a  typist  at  six 
■dollars  per  week  brought  scores  of  applications,  while  one  for  an  expert  candy 
maker  at  fifteen  dollars  failed  to  find  him  a  single  competent  person.  With  the 
sales  positions  and  typewriting  places  always  overcrowded,  the  wages  of  girls  re- 
main below  the  requirements  of  decent  living,  with  sad  results  in  too  many  cases. 
If  the  rural  school  is  to  accomplish  what  we  expect  of  it,  it  must  not  be  a 
thing  apart  from  the  life  of  the  people,  as  the  old  school  was.  We  must  take 
the  life  and  the  work  of  the  people  into  the  school  and  carry  the  teaching  and 
influence  of  the  school  into  the  life  of  the  people.  The  practical  work  of  the 
farm  and  the  home  must  go  into  the  school,  and  the  thought  and  knowledge 
•of  the  school  must  go  on  to  the  farm  and  into  the  home.  ^  The  new  century 
found  a  large,  'growing  body  of  new  science  related  to  farm  and  home  voca- 
tions, and  this  science  is  gradually  yielding  to -organization  in  text-book  and  in 
practice  —  work  in  gardens  and  fields,  in  barn  and  dairy,  and  in  home  and  shop. 
That  this  immense  body  of  new  knowledge  must  have  a  place  in  the  training  of 
our  country  youth  can  not  now  be  questioned;  and  that  it  will  greatly  increase 
the  general  and  economic  efficiency  of  the  country  people  has  already  been  shown 
"by  the  work  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations.  Various  methods 
of  uniting  school  training  with  farm  and  home  training  have  been  suggested. 
Teachers  can  co-operate  with  parents,  for  example,  in  arranging  field  and  feed- 
ing experiments,  in  testing  seeds,  in  studying  varieties  of  plants.  The  operations 
of  the  garden  and  orchard;  pruning,  budding,  grafting,  and  spraying  trees  and 
vines;  testing  the  value  of  foods  and  fertilizers  —  these  activities  offer  many 
opportunities  for  co-operation  between  teacher  and  farmer  in  the  interest  of  the 
children. 

We  must  not  only  take  the  work  of  the  farm  and  home  into  the  school, 
but  the  school  must  go  into  the  life  of  the  people.  In  the  old  days,, the  church 
was  the  centre  of  the  life  of  the  people.  The  whole  life  of  the  people,  social, 
educational,  and  religious,  centred  around  the  old  church.  The  protracted  meet- 
ings were  the  great  social  events  of  the  year,  and  practically  all  social  develop- 
ments, including  the  weddings,  had  their  source  in  the  church,  the  school,  or  the 
Sunday-school.  Now  all  this  is  changed.  In  this  sense,  I  fear  the  church  is 
losing  its  hold  upon  the  life  of  the  country  people.  It  has  certainly  ceased  to  be 
the  one  centre  of  their  life,  as  it  formerly  was.  The  pastor,  teacher,  and  physician 
should  be  the  joint  conservators  of  country  life  and  they  should  all  work  together 
from  one  common  centre. 

There  may  be  differences  of  opinion  as  to  where  the  new  centre  of  the  life 
of  our  country  people  should  be  located.  Some  think  it  should  be  in  the  town 
or  village;  others,  that  there  should  be  lyceums  or  agricultural  clubs;  and  still 
others  that  it  should  be  in  the  country  school.     It  is  probable  that  more  than  one 


AXXUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    150ARD    UF    AGRICULTURE.  15 

social  centre  will  be  developed  in  large,  prosperous  communities.  No  church  can 
undertake  all  this  co-operative  work,  because  it  is  interested  in  only  one  phase 
of  life,  but  the  whole  community  is  equally  interested  in  the  public  school.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  school  is  the  natural,  organic  centre  of  country 
life.  If,  however,  the  school  is  to  develop  as  such  a  centre,  it  must  concern  it- 
self directly  with  all  the  interests  of  the  people  and  organize  all  the  social  forces 
of  the  community. 

Such  are  some  of  the  chief  opportunities  and  needs  of  the  farmers.  We 
have  in  this  state,  we  see,  all  the  resources  and  conditions  for  a  prosperous  and 
happy  country  life.  With  as  good  soils  and  climate  as  can  be  found  anywhere, 
with  better  markets  and  other  economic  conditions  than  are  found  in  most  places, 
with  a  noble  people  for  friends  and  neighbors,  with  good  schools  now  and  better 
ones   coming,  why   should  any  man   wish  to   leave   Ohio? 

How  shall  we  classify  these  wanderers  away  from  the  old  state  into  the 
West?  How  shall  we  analyze  their  motives?  Some  are  restless  and  never  satis- 
fied anywhere  long;  others  are  essentially  land  speculators  and  buy  cheap  lands 
in  the  West  to  sell  to  their  friends  at  home.  Most  of  the  farmers  who  are 
urging  you  to  go  West  belong  to  that  class.  Some  good  men,  having  large 
families  of  boys  and  little  money,  go  West  to  buy  cheap  lands  for  them.  Some 
go  simply  because  they  have  in  their  blood  the  pioneering  spirit,  inherited  from 
their  fathers,  who  settled  this  great  country;  but  a  large  majority,  including  all 
those  who  put  the  things  of  mind  and  spirit  above  material  things,  will  stay  at 
home  in  Ohio,  where  all  the  conditions  are  favorable  for  making  our  children 
nobler,  wiser,  truer,  and  braver  than  we  are ;  for  this,  after  all.  is  the  chief  end 
of  our  living  and  striving. 


OHIO;  A  BATTLEGROUND;  HER  POSSIBILITIES. 

By  George  W.  Brown^ 
Zanesville,   Ohio. 

That  Ohio  is  today  a  battleground  is  quite  evident  to  the  close  observer. 
Her  history  from  Col.  Zane  and  Tecumseh  to  this  day  is  replete  with  characters 
that  have  left  a  deep  impress  upon  her  institutions.  Her  valleys  have  afforded 
a  natural  outlet  to  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi.  Her  soil  has  not  only  produced 
an  abundance  of  life-giving  qualities  but  has  likewise  sent  forth  from  her  hill 
tops  and  valleys  men  and  women  of  worth  to  all  the  vocations  of  life.  Her 
churches  and  schools  have  been  a  mighty  factor  in  her  development.  Today  a 
mighty  battle  is  being  fought  over  the  same  territory  that  our  forefathers  fought 
over.  Ours  is  a  different  battle.  They  fought  for  the  possession  of  the  soil  and 
we  are  fighting  for  the  retention  of  its  soil  and  its  rehabiliment.  Our  forefathers 
contended  against  a  mighty  foe  who  sought  to  destroy  the  home  life  of  the 
whites.  We  are  contending  against  foes  as  deadly  to  home  life  as  were  the  early 
men  of  the   forest.     Let  us  see  along  what  lines  these  battles  are  being  waged. 

Ohio,  politically,  is  a  battleground.  Adams  County  vote  sellers,  grafters  and 
bribers  in  high  places,  failure  to  enforce  law  until  a  mighty  crisis  arises  that 
compels  a  stern  hand;  all  these  are  indicative  of  a  mighty  contention  that  must 
soon  bring  us  to  a  better  day.  But  this  phase  does  not  so  much  concern  in  this 
article. 

Religiously  there  is  a  mighty  battle  raging.  This  is  especially  true  in  the 
rural  districts  where  the  churches  have  seemingly  outlived  their  usefulness.  By 
that   is   meant   the   church   that   no    longer   serves   the   community   in   which    it   is 


16  ADDRESSES 

situated.  The  large  number  of  churches  in  a  given  community  is  another  mighty 
problem  awaiting  a  proper  solution.  That  a  given  community  is  over  churched 
goes  with  the  mentioning  of  the  fact.  One  place  known  to  the  speaker  has,  in 
two  hundred  square  miles,  (20  miles  long  by  10  miles  wide)  forty-six  churches 
and  hardly  any  of  them  doing  anything  to  forward  the  cause  of  the  Master's 
kingdom.     This  problem  must  and  will  be   fought  out. 

The  rural  schools  are  likewise  undergoing  transition.  Depleted  districts  are 
compelling  the  solution.  The  little  "red  school  house"  has  passed  into  history 
together  with  many  other  things  dear  to  our  hearts.  The  boys  and  girls  of  our 
rural  districts .  are  demanding  as  good  an  education  today  as  the  boys  and  girls 
in  the  city.  That  can  best  be  accomplished  by  the  centralization  of  our  rural 
schools. 

And  the  greatest  battle  might  well  be  termed  the  battle  of  the  soil.  The 
correct  solution  of  this  problem  will,  in  a  large  manner,  solve  all  the  rest.  ]\Iany 
of  her  fields  and  farms  are  depleted  in  fertility  and  power  to  produce.  The 
home  life  they  once  maintained  has  passed.  The  social  life  in  many  places  a 
thing  of  "the  long  ago."  And  all  this  because  of  a  depleted  soil  which  has  been 
robbed  by  an  incompetent  husbandman  or  a  type  of  farmer  that  hitherto  wrought 
havoc  on  many  Ohio  farms. 

'  Having  recounted  some  of  the  most  important  battles  that  are  being  fought 
let  us  turn  our  attention  to  possibilities  that  are  awaiting  the  state  of  Ohio. 
That  her  possibilities  lie  in  the  correct  solution  of  her  battles  is  self-evident. 
And  the  correct  solution  is  centralization. 

Let  me  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  two  things  that  I  want  you  to  forever 
remember.  (1)  No  people  will  ever  fise  higher  than  their  religion.  Religion 
is  the  fountain-head  from  whence  all  might  impulses  flow,  (2)  Farmmg  is  to 
enable  a  man  to  live  and  not  to  make  a  living.  That  vast  numbers  of  men  have 
only  farmed  to  make  a  living  is  evident  from  the  large  number  of  depleted  and 
abandoned  farms.  Our  great  aim  therefore  should  be  to  keep  alive  our  religious 
interests  as  well  as  our  farming  interests.  Let  us  endeavor  to  unify  them.  x\nd 
in  seeking  to  unify  the  interests  of  religion  and  farming  we  work  for  the  idea 
of   centralization. 

Our  church  life  has  undergone  a  rapid  transition  the  last  decade.  It  once 
served  well  the  community.  The  early  pastor  visited  among  the  homes,  had  prayer, 
kissed  the  babies  and  served  the  church  by  serving  the  family  group.  The  idea 
of  serving  the  community  group  had  not  dawned.  His  service  to  the  community 
was  wholly  through  the  family.  But  today  the  new  idea  has  dawned.  The 
pastor  serves  the  entire  community.  He  renders  his  best  service  as  he  serves 
the  entire  community.  In  other  words  it  is  not  sufficient  alone  to  have  prayer,, 
some  squaw  talk  and  kiss  the  babies,  but  his  interests  lie  in  working  for  those 
things  that  will  bring  the  entire  community  to  higher  ideals.  And  that  means  to 
endeavor  to  establish  a  community  heart  or  ideal.  Without  doubt,  gentlemen, 
the  establishment  of  a  community  ideal  will  work  alike  to  the  good  of  religion 
and  better  farming.  Are  they  not  one  and  the  same  in  a  way.  And  the  setting 
up  of  a  community  ideal  is  what  we  mean  by  centralizing. 

Let  us  see  how  this  community  ideal  works  out.  As  a  specific  illustration 
we  will  take  the  farmer  and  his  apples.  One  farmer  may  take  the  blue  and  red 
ribbon  both  at  the  county  fair  but  the  price  of  apples  in  his  community  remain 
the  same.  However  if  it  is  a  community  ideal  and  business  to  raise  good  apples, 
the  best,  the  price  of  apples  will  be  raised  accordingly  for  the  entire  output  can 
be  handled  by  a  single  buyer.  (And  right  here  is  certainly  a  good  application  of 
the  Master's  famous  saying  "Ye  shall  love  your  neighbor  as  yourself.")  Hood 
River  apples  from  Oregon  sell  on  the  Ohio  market  for  about  three  dollars  a  box 
(bushel  per  box)    and  outsell  our  apples  with  three  bushels   in  a  barrel.     Why? 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE.  17 

Hood  River  apples  are  sent  out  by  a  Packers'  Association  backed  up  by  a  com- 
munity ideal.  Apples  that  will  not  pass  through  a  two  and  a  half  inch  hole  are 
sent  out  as  Al  apples.  Any  man  who  dares  to  send  out  apples  under  that  grad- 
ing is  expelled  from  the  association.  In  some  instances  his  "output"  has  been 
destroyed  by  the  community  rather  than  suffer  their  ideal  to  be  lowered  by  one 
stingy  cuss  whose  interests  are  personal  rather  than  community.  Now  what, 
about  Ohio  apples?  No  community  ideal.  Alas  how  many  think  it  a  sharp  busi- 
ness deal  to  put  large  apples  in  the  head  end  of  the  barrel  and  fill  with  cider 
culls.  At  a  recent  apple  show  in  Baltimore,  "New  York  apples  were  ruled  out 
because  of  dishonesty  in  the  packing,  though  on  the  authority  of  President 
Brown  of  the  New  York  Central,  three  shipping  points  of  New  York  State  each 
ship  more  apples  than  Washington,  and  Oregon  and  Colorado  combined."  (See 
Technical  World  for  August,  1911,  page  635.)  There,  gentlemen,  is  a  striking 
instance  for  the  country  pastor  to  strike  for  a  community  ideal  and  to  serve  the 
entire  community  by  bringing  it  about.  Are  not  the  interests  of  the  farmer  and 
pastor  one  and  the  same?  Again  I  say  —  no  community  can  rise  higher  than  her 
religion.  And  downright  honesty  is  a  basic  principle  that  must  be  strictly  adhered 
to  by  all  mankind. 

Another  striking  example  is  the  egg  business.  Here  we  see  the  lack  of 
community  ideal  or  co-operation.  Some  people  do  candle  their  eggs.  The  price 
of  eggs,  however,  are  determined  by  the  uncandled  eggs.  The  difference  in  price 
between  the  producer  and  consumer  is  brought  about  largely  at  this  very  point. 
Alas,  again,  how  many  bring  uncandled  eggs  to  market.  Rotten  apples  would  be 
detected  at  once  and  the  sale  spoiled.  Rotten  eggs  are  only  detected  when  candled 
or  broken.  The  dealer  must  therefore  candle  and  grade  the  eggs.  To  do  this 
he  must  estimate  a  per  cent  of  bad  eggs.  The  price  to  the  producer  is  accord- 
ingly reduced  to  cover  all  shortage.  But  suppose  the  entire  community  would 
candle  their  eggs.  Don't  you  see  that  the  price  of  eggs  are  bound  to  go  up 
for  the  producer.  Let  it  become  known  that  Brownville  people  all  candle  their 
eggs,  that  a  case  of  eggs  from  that,  community  have  the  stamp  and  approval  of 
the  community  as  an  Al  grade  and  the  city  merchant  can  afford  to  pay  more 
for  such  eggs  and  will  gladly  do  so.  Here  is  another  instance  for  the  pastorial 
effort.  And  right  here  the  speaker  wants  to  say  that  in  a  case  of  eggs  recently 
purchased  from  a  community  whose  religfous  belief  was  one  of  the  strictest  at 
least  one- fourth  if  not  one-third  were  bad.  (Confidentially  their  religion  was 
about  as  rotten  as  their  eggs.)  I  contend,  gentlemen,  that  our  work  is  not  unlike. 
I  insist  that  our  religion  ought  to  get  us  somewhere.  And  I  am  mighty  tired 
of  that  sort  of  preaching  that  says  to  the  down  and  out  or  the  unfortunate 
"Hold  on,  brother,  and  in  the  glorious  hereafter  you  will  have  a  gracious  reward." 
I  say  let's  make  heaven  right  here  on  earth.  Have  better  homes,  better  schools, 
better  farms,  better  social  environments  and  higher  community  ideals.  And  right 
here  I  want  to  remind  you  of  what  I  said  a  few  moments  ago,  "Farming  is  to 
enable  a  man  to  live  and  not  to  make  a  living."  I  believe  in  the  preaching  that 
will  enable  a  man  to  live  better.  In  other  words  preach  more  about  living  grace 
than  dying  grace. 

Now  in  this  idea  of  co-operation,  community  interest,  etc.,  lies  one  of  Ohio's 
greatest  possibilities.  Around  a  given  community  build  up  a  community  ideal 
and  commodity.  That  commodity  and  ideal  becomes  known  to  the  world  at 
large.  It  simplifies  advertising  and  in  a  vast  number  of  ways  adds  to  the  interests 
of  the  community.  Holstein  cattle  so  largely  raised  in  one  of  the  counties  of 
Ohio  is  known  in  South  America.  So  in  the  matter  of  raising  good  horses  of 
whatever  breed.  It  likewise  follows  concerning  sheep,  hogs  or  whatever  can  be 
advantageously  raised  in  a  given  community. 

3      AD.    BD.    AGR. 


18  ADDRESSES 

Again  since  the  church  Hfe  in  the  country  seems  to  be  waning  let  us  apply 
the  community  ideal  or  more  strictly  speaking  the  community  center.  Make  the 
country  church  the  center  of  all  its  activities.  Around  it  revolve  its  religious 
life,  its  social  life  and  everything  that  pertains  to  the  interests  of  that  community. 
Its  religious  life  must  seek  to  arouse  and  define  and  set  up  such  ideals.  In  other 
words  it  is  not  sufficient  to  say  "Lord,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved,"  but  "Lord, 
what  can  I  do  to  help."  Constructive  work  and  not  defensive.  The  social  life 
will  likewise  seek  its  community  center  and  that  around  the  church.  It  will 
take  the  place  of  the' "spelling  school,"  "apple  peeling,"  "carpet  rag  sewing,"  "log 
rollin',"  etc.  The  singing  school  can  yet  afford  a  starting  point  for  such  a  social 
life.  And  certainly  no  one  will  deny  the  need  of  the  rehabiliment  of  the  strong 
type  of  social  life  in  the  country. 

Around  that  center  will  be  the  centralized  school  which  can  best  serve  the 
full  interest  of  the  community.  It  will  give  the  very  best  educational  system  to 
the  country  place.  That  will  give  the  grades  and  grade  teachers.  And  the  central 
school  will  be  dependent  upon  the  good  roads  leading  to  and  from  it.  The  church 
will  here  again  seek  to  arouse  the  community  ideal.  As  I  see  this  whole  question 
every  community  should  be  made  a  place  so  inviting  that  people  will  want  to 
move  there  to  die  rather  than  move  to  town.  That  brings  us  to  the  idea  of  the 
home  which  we  want  to  speak  of   for  a   few  moments. 

A  few  moments  ago  I  said  "Farming  is  to  enable  a  man  to  live  rather  than 
make  a  living."  That  is  true  and  evident.  "Farming  to  make  a  living"  is  the 
farmer  who  robs  the  soil  of  its  virgin  fertility  and  then  leaves  for  parts  beyond 
rather  than  like  the  other  thief  who  leaves  for  parts  unknown.  The  man  who  has 
thus  robbed  a  farm  has  been  a  menace  to  the  community.  Yea,  he  has  been  a 
veritable  thief.  On  the  other  hand  the  man  who  "farms  to  live"  is  the  man  who 
will  build  up  the  soil,  seek  the  best  interests  of  the  community  as  to  her  schools 
and  churches,  roads,  and  what  not.  The  home  idea  is  the  prevailing  thought.  And 
that  home  idea  must  not  be  personal.  It  must  seek  the  best  ideals  for  the  entire 
community.  For  the  community  is  not  known  to  the  world  at  large,  by  the  best 
homes  in  it  but  rather  by  the  lowest.  It's  the  individual  and  home  that  is  on 
the  margin  that  represents  that  community  to  the  world  at  large.  The  aim  and 
effort,  therefore,  should  be  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  marginal  man  or  home. 
Here  again  we  see  these  interests   converging.     Let   us  take  a   specific  instance. 

Suppose  a  few  farmers  are  interested  in  trying  to  raise  the  standard  of  their 
community  by  assisting  a  few  marginal  men.  In  addition  they  are  church  men 
seeking  to  carry  out  their  Master's  teaching  "Ye  shall  love  your  neighbor  as 
yourself."  They  will,  we  will  say,  set  aside  a  few  hundred  dollars  to  assist  their 
brothers  not  so  fortunate.  So  they  go  to  Tom  Brown  who  has  lost  a  team,  to 
Bill  Smith  who  has  lost  a  cow,  and  Sam  Perkins  who  needs  some  new  machinery 
and  say  "Brothers  we  will  help  you."  Each  man  is  assisted  to  his  want.  He  is 
saved  the  expense  of  a  mortgage,  etc.  Now  the  men  who  loaned  the  money  are 
interested  in  seeing  Tom  Brown,  Bill  Smith, "  and  Sam  Perkins  get  a^  good  crop, 
good  price  and  market  (brothers  keeper).  And  in  turn  Tom  Brown,  Bill  Smith, 
and  Sam  Perkins  are  interested  in  the  church  that  relieves  the  present  needs  as 
w^ell  as  tJwse  to  come  and  says :  "By  Gum !  this  is  the  very  sort  of  a  community 
and  church  that  I  want  to  'tie  up'  to."  As  a  result  three  good  homes  are  soon 
established  and  that  community  strengthened  just  that  much.  Such  a  church  and 
community  ideals  will  eventually  build  up  a  home  community  of  the  strongest 
type.  Men  believe  in  a  religion  and  community  like  that  and  will  seek  to  con- 
tribute to  its  welfare  themselves. 

Gentlemen  of  The  Ohio  Agricultural  Society,  we  must  seek  to  establish  the 
community  idea  throughout  our  state  to  bring  about  the  largest  results.  Then 
in  turn  these  community  groups  centralize  into   larger   circles   and   these   in   turn 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTUI^E.  19 

into  the  larger  or  state  itself.  Small  communities  blessed  with  good  roads  will 
be  interested  in  working  for  good  roads  throughout  the  entire  state,  the  central- 
ization of  schools,  nine  foot  stage  of  the  Ohio  for  the  counties  bordering  on  the 
Ohio,  etc.  But  our  greatest  possibility  will  be  in  working  out  the  greatest  trust 
reposed  in  us  by  the  Creator  of  the  universe  when  he  said  "Thou  madest  him 
to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands :  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under 
his  feet."  Farming  will  be,  or  should  be,  considered  a  holy  calling.  God  created 
the  universe.  God  is  holy.  Everything  He  created  is  holy.  The  earth  is  holy 
and  therefore  everything  that  comes  out  of  it  is  holy.  It  is  ours  to  feed  the 
other  two-thirds  of  the  peoplne.  But  until  we  reach  up  to  our  highest  ideals  we 
can  never  do  it.  We  are  taught  to  pray  and  say  "Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,"  but  how  can  we  see  that  prayer  answered  if  we  hang  our  hoe  on  the 
fence  and  leave  the  plow  in  the  shed?  Impossible.  And  yet  in  this  state  there 
are  thirty-four  counties  producing  less  corn,  wheat,  and  small  grain  than  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  while  there  are,  possibly,  a  million  more  people  to  feed.  Shall 
we  offer  the  same  prayer  and  expect  to  see  the  people  fed?  Never.  We  must 
follow  the  laws  of  almighty  God.  He  says  "Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  so  we  must 
cease  our  robbing  the  soil  of  its  fertility  and  put  back  again  the  elements  that  it 
originally  contained.  The  highest  type  of  dominion  is  brain  not  brawn.  Our 
greatest  aim  is  in  Scientific  Agriculture.  To  answer  our  own  prayer  will  mean 
to  raise  two  bushels  where  now  only  one  grows.  To  make  it  bloom  like  the  rose 
of  Sharon. 

In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  let  me  use  a  few  verses  written  for  this  occasion : 
Boost    Ohio,    boost   her    high. 
Boost   Ohio  and  boost  her  dry. 
Boost    her  valleys  —  up   and    down 
Boost    her    country,    village,    town. 

Boost  her  —  North,   East,   South  and  West ; 
Boost    her  —  outside    but    inside   best. 
Boost  her   roads,  schools,   farms   and  church. 
Boost  not   alone  by  words  but  work. 

Build    her   government   broad   and    deep: 
Make   social  conditions   all   races  keep. 
Centralize   and   work   and   plan 
Her  markets,  railroads  to  best  serve  man. 

But   in   our  boosting  don't   forget 

God's  will  and  plans  are  working  yet.  ^ 

To  boost  Ohio  and  make  her  rare 

Have  boys  and  girls  of  character. 


OHIO'S  INFLUENCE  AND  PRESTIGE  IN  THE  LIVE  STOCK 

WORLD. 

By   Prof.   C.    S.    Plumb, 
Ohio  State  University. 

Those  sections  which  seem  best  suited  to  live  stock,  have  what  we  term 
a  temperate  climate  and  a  reasonably  fertile  soil.  If  that  is  so,  in  what  respect 
is  Ohio  adapted  to  the  raising  of   farm  animals? 


20  ADDRESSES 

Without  going  into  too  much  detail,  the  following  facts  may  be  credited 
to  Ohio.  Our  climate  is  of  the  moderate  sort,  such  as  might  be  expected  of 
territory  lying  approximately  from  41°  to  38°  North.  We  have  but  very  little 
severe  heat  or  cold,  and  over  the  southern  half  of  the  state,  in  winter  snow  is 
the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  In  central  Ohio,  winter  is  hardly  expected  be- 
fore January,  and  in  March  the  grass  begins  to  take  on  new  life.  In  southern 
Ohio,  live  stock  may  be  grazed  on  the  fields  for  twelve  months  in  the  year.  In 
the  northern  section,  snow  is  more  abundant,  closed  stables  in  winter  are  com- 
mon, and  the  conditions  are  more  vigorous  than  farther  south.  However,  over 
much  of  the  State,  farm  animals  require  much  less  winter  shelter  than  is  custom- 
ary in  the  east  and  north.  In  the  southern  half  of  the  State,  the  winter  con- 
ditions usually  allow  for  much  freedom  of  the  stock  in  the  open,  to  its  advantage. 

The  soil  of  Ohio  is  variable,  but  there  is  hardly  a  section  in  which  standard 
forage  crops  and  cereals  will  not  grow  to  perfection  under  proper  management. 
There  are  two  crops,  universally  recognized  as  playing  a  most  important  part  in 
farm  economy  as  applied  to  stock,  namely  blue  grass  and  Indian  corn.  These 
two  plants  may  be  found  in  every  section  of  the  State.  Better  blue  grass 
cannot  be.  found  in  the  famous  region  of  Kentucky,  than  one  finds  here  and 
there  in  the  pastures  of  Ohio.  Blue  grass  is  universal  to  Ohio,  and  where  this 
grass  thrives,  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and. hogs  are  most  economically  kept  for  the 
growing  season  of  the  year.  Ohio  is  famous  for  its  corn  crop,  and  in  yield  per 
acre  this  State  stands  up  among  the  leaders,  in  1909  producing  over  150,000,000 
bushels,  ranking  seventh  among  the  states  in  the  quantity  produced.  In  average 
yield  per  acre,  Ohio  ranked  second  among  all  the  so-called  corn  growing  states. 

In  the  production  of  the  other  standard  cereals,  grasses  and  clovers,  Ohio 
is  one  of  the  leaders.  Red  clover  is  a  universal  crop,  while  alfalfa  is  rapidly 
securing  a  strong  clientage-  in  the  State,  some  20,000  acres  reported  as  grown 
in  1911.  Any  soil  that  will  grow  blue  grass,  corn,  red  clover,  alfalfa  and 
timothy  hay  abundantly,  can  compete  with  the  world  in  the  breeding  and  feed- 
ing of  farm  animals.    This  can  generally  be  done  on  the  farms  in  Ohio. 

So  far  as  markets  and  shipping  facilities  are  concerned,  no  State  is  more 
advantageously  situated.  We  have  a  population  of  over  5,000,000  people.  We 
have  five  cities  widely  separated  in  the  State,  with  populations  ranging  from 
over  100,000  to  500,000  with  many  good  sized  towns  and  smaller  cities.  In 
these  is  a  market  for  the  producer  of  meat.  No  State  is  better  supplied  with 
railways  and  shipping  facilities.  In  less  than  24  hours  we  may  deliver  meat 
stock  by  freight  to  the  largest  stock  yards  in  America,  while  by  express  we  can 
deliver  into  New  York,  Philadelphia  or  Boston  within  a  similar  period  of  time. 
Steam  railways  penetrate  all  but  one  of  Ohio's  eighty-eight  counties,  whereby 
the  farmer  at  a  minimum  of  expense  can  easily  reach  a   shipping  point. 

Ohio  assumed  a  most  important  place  in  American  live  stock  affairs  at  a 
very  early  date.  Vei-y  early  in  the  last  century,  before  the  day  of  the  rail- 
roads, cattle  were  driven  overland  from  southern  Ohio  to  Baltimore-  and  New 
York.  Ohio  cattle  were  recognized  as  the  best  produced  on  the  continent.  In 
1833  at  Chillicothe,  there  was  organized  the  Ohio  Company  for  Importing  and 
Breeding  Shorthorn  Cattle.  This  company  sent  men  to  England  to  purchase 
Shorthorns,  and  their  1834  importations  is  oue  of  the  notable  events  in  Am- 
erican Shorthorn  history.  As  a  result  of  the  success  of  this  company,  others 
were  organized  in  other  counties  in  Ohio,  and  in  other  states.  From  that  day 
to  this,  Ohio  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  Shorthorn  breed- 
ing grounds  in  America.  Today  we  have  in  the  State,  three  herds  of  Short- 
horns second  to  none  on  the  continent,  viz.,  that  of  Thomas  Johnson  of  Colum- 
bus, Carpenter  and  Ross  of  Mansfield,  and  D.  R.  Hanna  of  Ravenna.  The  herds 
of   these   men   have   won   the  highest   honors   in   tl.e   most  severe   competitions   in 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE.  21 

the  greatest  of  our  shows.  ^  The  most  famous  Shorthorn  bull  of  this  genera- 
tion, Whitehall  Sultan,  was  calved  at  Yellow  Springs  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  E. 
S.  Kelly,  and  a  part  of  his  long  and  notable  service  as  a  sire  was  in  this  State. 
Three  of  his  greatest  sons,  Avondale,  Glenbrook  Sultan  and  Fair  Sultan,  have 
done  much  in  these  latter  days  to  add  to  the  laurels  of  our  Ohio,  breeders. 
Our  Shorthorn  breeders  have  purchased  the  choicest  breeding  stock  abroad, 
regardless  of  expense,  since  the  thirties,  when  Young  Mary  and  Rose  of  Sharon, 
founders  of  distinguished  families,  found  their  way  to  the  Buckeye  State.  About 
ten  years  ago,  Mr.  E.  S.  Kelly  paid  $6,000  in  Scotland  for  Brave  Archer,  and 
within  the  past  few  years  both  Carpenter  and  Ross  and  D.  R.  Hanna  have  im- 
ported sires  that  in  their  herds  are  creating  results  that  are  of  the  very  best 
sort.  At  our  state  fair  the  Shorthorn  assumes  a  place  of  great  popularity. 
Here  in  Ohio  came  the  first  development  of  the  Polled  Durham,  and  the  names 
of  Miller  of  Ottawa  and  Crane  of  Tippecanoe  City,  will  always  hold  a  most 
important  place  in  the  development  of  this  breed.  They  were  long  recognized 
as   the   master   breeders   of   this    Shorthorn    family. 

One  of  the  greatest  recognized  beef  breeds  of  today  is  that  black,  horn- 
less one  from  Northern  Scotland  —  The  Aberdeen-Angus:  In  the  beef  show 
competitions  during  the  past  ten  years,  the  Angus  has  more  than  held  its  own, 
—  it  has  led.  While  there  are  comparatively  few  herds  in  Ohio  of  this  breed, 
we  have  long  had  a  recognized  place  on  the  map.  Mr.  D.  N.  Hine  of  Erie 
County  introduced  the  Angus  to  Ohio  about  1880.  Almost  thirty  years  ago, 
Mr,  Benton  Garringer  of  Washington  Court  House,  showed  the  Angus  and 
was  a  noted  winner  at  the  fairs,  his  bull  Buffalo  Bill  being  one  of  the .  famous 
early  sires  and  show  bulls  of  the  breed.  O.  E.  Bradfute  and  Son  of  Cedar- 
ville  and  Dr.  H.  M.  Brown  of  Hillsboro,  have  for  years  been  active  Angus 
breeders.  The  Bradfute  Meadowbrook  herd  is  one  of  the  noted  ones  of  the 
continent.  One  may  be  safe  in  saying  that  no  herd  in  this  country  has  done 
more  for  the  breed  than  that  of  Meadowbrook.  Zaire  5th  and  Lucy's  Prince, 
long  in  service  in  this  herd,  may  be  regarded  as  two  of  the  most  valuable  sires 
of  the  breed,  while  as  a  show  bull,  the  latter  had  a  remarkable  career,-  such  as 
rarely  comes  to  one  animal.  Each  year  sees  the  Bradfute  herd  lined  up  in  the 
most  severe  show  ring  competition  and  holding  high  place  in  the  list  of  awards. 

In  beef  production,  since  early  days,  Ohio  has  held  high  rank.  Early  in 
the  19th  century  herds  were  driven  overland  from  Ohio  to  Baltimore,  Phila- 
delphia and  New  York,  after  being  fattened  on  our  rich  pastures.  Since  those 
early  days  our  feeders  have  been  consistent  shippers  to  Chicago,  Cincinnati  and 
Pittsburgh  markets,  and  each  year  hundreds  of  cattle  are  fed  in  Ohio  for 
export.  It  was  our  distinction  as  a  beef  and  pork  producing  state  that  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  the  stock  yards  and  packing  houses  at  Cincinnati,  long 
the  leading  institutions  of  their  kind  in  America.  While  we  do  not  produce  fat 
cattle  for  feeding  as  much  as  formerly,  large  numbers  or  cattle  are  shipped 
into  Ohio  for  feeding,  later  to  be  sent  to  the  markets  in  finished  condition.  In 
southwestern  and  western  Ohio,  thousands  of  feeders  have  fattened  on  our 
grass  and  corn.  Mr.  D.  W.  Black  of  Lyndon,  for  years  showed  car  load  lots 
at  Chicago  at  the  International  Exposition,  where  his  exhibit  secured  the  highest 
honors,  that  of  grand  championship,  and  attracted  national  attention.  Mr.  J. 
D.  Rogers  of  Bloomingburg  for  many  years  fed  extensively  and  has  been  a 
successful  exhibitor  at  Chicago.  Humphrey  Jones  of  Washington  Court  House 
has  fed  large  numbers  of  steers,  in  which  silage  has  been  an  important  feature 
of  the  rations,  so  that  his  feeding  methods  have  attracted  wide  attention  in  the 
middle  West. 

The  dairy  breeds  of  cattle  have  long  had  a  strong  foothold  in  Ohio,  and 
much  more  so  today  than  ever.     The  great   increase  of  population  in   our   cities, 


22  ADDRESSES 

the  enormous  increased  demand  for  milk,  and  the  better  compensation  for  its 
production,  has  stimulated  the  dairy  industry.  Today  we  have  about  1,000,000 
milch  cows  in  the  State. 

The  Jersey  breed  of  cattle  was  first  introduced  to  Ohio  in  Hamilton  County, 
in  1865.  The  breed  found  favor,  and  for  many  years,  this  State  Jias  led  in 
Jersey  cattle  production.  In  recent  years,  more  transfers  of  cattle  of  this  breed 
have  taken  place  in  Ohio  than  in  any  other  State.  In  1911,  there  were  trans- 
ferred 3,140  Jerseys  in  Ohio.  There  have  been  many  men  prominent  in  Jersey 
development  in  the  State.  The  late  Mr.  Frank  Hart  of  Clevveland,  had  a  very 
noted  herd,  and  King  of  St.  Lambert's  King,  his  leading  sire,  was  recognized  as 
one  of  the  great  bulls  of  the  breed.  Mr.  Hart  had  many  great  producers  and 
was  for  years  one  of  the  great  promoters  of  the  St.  Lambert  family.  Later  he 
turned  to  the  Island  for  stock,  and  made  important  importations,  and  was  the 
first  man  in  Ohio  to  introduce  in  a  serious  way,  cattle  of  Island  blood  lines  and 
type.  He  brought  from  the  Island,  Eminent's  Raleigh,  noted  as  a  sire  of  high 
class  females.  Judge  Bradbury  of  Pomeroy  has  long  been  a  prominent  Jersey 
breeder,  as  have  Messrs.  D.  H.  Olds  of  Springfield,  Henry  Dubois  of  Vigo, 
L.  P.  Bailey  of  Tacoma  and  Hugh  Stewart  of  Washington  Court  House.  Jerseys 
are  found  on  every  side  in  Ohio,  and  are  generally  popular.  The  Ohio  Jersey 
Cattle  Club  is  the  most  wide-awake  local  State  Club  in  this  country.  Among 
the  three  notable  Jersey  herds  of  America  today  are  those  of  Sheffield  Farm, 
Glendale,  Ohio,  Hartman  Farm,  Columbus,  and  Goodhold  Farm,  Mentor.  Shef- 
field Farm  paid  $11,000  for  imported  Plymouth  Lad,  Hartman  Farm  purchased 
Lucy's  Prince  in  the  East,  and  Goodhold  Farm  secured  Raleigh,  each  famous 
sires. 

In  recent  years  the  Holstein-Friesian  has  gained  rapidly  in  favor  in  Ohio, 
especially  in  the  northern  part  contiguous  to  Cleveland.  In  1866,  O.  F.  Jones 
of  Wooster,  Ohio,  is  credited  with  bringing  the  first  cattle  of  the  breed  to 
Ohio,  a  bull  purchased  from  Chenery  of  Massachusetts.  In  1882  it  is  said  there 
were  just  1,000  Holsteins  in  Ohio.  In  the  nineties,  W.  B.  Smith  &  Son  of 
Columbus,  had  a  famous  herd  and  showed  over  much  of  the  middle  West  with 
great  success.  In  their  herd  were  many  prominent  producers.  They  had  in 
service  Paul  De  Kol,  Aaggie  Beauty  Seconds'  Statesman  and  Clyde  Paul  De 
Kol,  sires  of  many  advanced  registry  cows.  This  herd  now  is  in  the  owner- 
ship of  Derrer  &  Son  of  Columbus,  and  is  each  year  well  represented  on  the 
show  circuit.  In  northern  Ohio,  the  Horr  herd  for  many  years  was  prominent, 
and  today  in  Geauga  County,  herd  of  Dimmick  &  Brother  is  attracting  national 
attention.  Here  may  be  found  Daisy  Grace  De  Kol,  with  a  world's  record  for 
7,  60  and  90  days,  for  producing  more  butter  fat  than  any  other  cow  of  her 
age  has  done.  From  her  milk  was  produced  32.5  pounds  of  80%  estimated 
butter.  They  have  five  cows  that  in  their  two  year  form  produced  20  or  more 
pounds  each  of  estimated  80%  butter,  the.  greatest  showing  of  any  herd  in  Am- 
erica for  this  class.  Their  bull  Pontiac  Aaggie  Korndyke,  is  rated  as  one  of 
the  notable  present  day  Holstein  sires.  Dimmick  Bros,  have  several  cows  that 
have  produced  30  or  more  pounds  of  estimated  80%  butter  in  seven  days.  At 
the  present  time  no  class  of  cattle  bring  such  relatively  high  prices  and  are  so 
much  in  demand  as  the  Holsteins. 

Among  the  dairy  breeds,  the  Guernsey  has  very  high  place,  and  while 
the  breed  has  not  had  a  prominent  place  in  Ohio  in  the  past,  it  bids  fair  to 
become  a  popular  favorite.  Already  Ohio  has  the  largest  Guernsey  herd  in  the 
world,  that  of  Mr.  O.  C.  Barber  of  Barberton,  and  in  it  is  Spotlswood  Daisy 
Pearl,  17696,  the  world's  champion  butter  producing  cow  of  the  breed.  In  one 
year  ending  in  November,  1911,  she  produced  936.4  pounds  of  butter  fat,  con- 
taining 1,125  pounds  of  estimated  85%  butter.     This  cow  is  now  seven  years  old. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTL'RE.  23 

an<l^  was  bred  in  Ohio,  by  Mr.  Jacob  Beidler/  of  Willoughby,  a  member,  of  our 
State   Board  of   Agriculture   and   long  a    Guernsey   breeder  of   prominence. 

Ayrshire  cattle  are  also  becoming  better  known  in  Ohio,  and  Mr.  John 
Sherwin  of  Willoughby  has  a  large  and  choice  herd,  headed  by  Bargenoch 
Bonnie  Scotland,  for  which  he  paid  in  1910  the  sum  of  $1,600,  the  top  price  in 
America  for  an  Ayrshire  bull  at  that  time. 

Red  Polled  are  a  general  purpose  breed,  for  both  beef  and  milk.  Ohio  men 
have  long  promoted  this  breed.  Mr.  J.  McLain  Smith  of  Dayton  and  Captain 
V.  T.  Hills  of  Delaware  were  importers  in  the  eighties,  and  did  much  to  push 
the  breed  to  the  front  in  America.  Mr.  Smith  was  long  the  Secretary  of  the 
Red  Polled  Cattle  Club,  and  Captain  Hills  did  more  than  any  other  one  man 
to  intelligently  promote  and  test  the  breed.  ^He  brought  out  the  famous  May- 
flower tribe,  and  his  cow,  Mayflower  2nd,  in  1901  at  the  Pan  American  Exposi- 
tion held  second,  place  among  fifty  animals  representing  ten  different  breeds. 
His   sales   at  Chicago   received  the  highest  prices  paid   for   cattle   of   this  breed. 

Our  cattle  interests  are  of  great  magnitude  among  the  states,  Ohio  occupy- 
ing ninth  place  in  value,  our  combined  beef  and  dairy  cattle  by  the  last  census 
being  valued  at  $51,370,000. 

Ohio  horses  from  early  days  have  been  in  great  demand  in  the  East. 
While  farm  horses  had  been  taken  East  for  many  years,  the  first  notable  prog- 
ressive horse  movement  in  this  State  occurred  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  when  some  of  our  enterprising  horsemen  visited  France  and  made  im- 
portations of  French  horses.  Along  at  this  time,  Horse  Importing  Companies 
organized  in  Ohio,  and  a  movement  set  in  to  bring  better  horses  to  the  State 
than  we  then  had.  The  introduction  of  the  two  Percherons,  Louis  Napoleon, 
to  Champaign  County,  and  Pleasant  Valley  Bill  to  Pickaway  County,  about 
1851,  was  really  a  notable  historic  affair,  for  these  became  great  early  day  sires, 
and  largely  aft'ected  the  character  of  the  horse  stock  of  this  country.  Since 
these  days,  great  numbers  of  draft  horses  have  been  brought  to  Ohio  from 
Europe,  and  more  especially  France.  The  Percheroru  is  essentially  the  favorite 
draft  breed  in  Ohio,  and  many  of  the  best  specimens  imported  to  America  have 
been  brought  here  by  Ohio  importers.  For  many  years  the  McLaughlin  Brothers 
of  Columbus,  have  been  importing  the  best  stallions  purchasable  in  France,  and 
among  the  horses  they  have  brought  to  America  have  been  some  of  the  best 
show  animals  and  sellers  in  the  American  market.  This  firm  has  probably  dis- 
tribute more  high  class  stallions,  and  sold  more  horses  at  high  prices  than  any 
other  American  firm  of  equal  age  in  the  business.  Among  the  noted  horses  they 
have  imported  and  sold  are  Orangiste,  sold  for  $5,500,  Fronton,  sold  for  $6,500, 
Pour-Quoi-Pas,  sold  for  $7,000,  and  Rosemberg,  sold  for  $8,000.  In  their  recent 
importations  they  have  brought  over  three  great  show  stallions,  Etudiant,  a  famous 
French  winner,  Intime,  first  prize  in  a  competition  of  177  two  year  old  stallions 
at  the  1910  International  Exposition,  and  Hantbois,  first  prize  aged  stallion  at  the 
1911  International.  Messrs.  Bell  Bros.,  of  Wooster,  Col.  G.  W.  Crawford  of 
Newark,  Forney  Bros,  of  Plainfield,  and  Mr.  D.  J.  Grindell  of  Kenton,  have  for 
years  been  also  engaged  in  importing  draft  horses.  As  a  result  of  these  various 
importations,  and  our  home  breeders,  Ohio  has  many  high  class  draft  horses 
scattered  over  the  State.  Not  only  this,  but  Ohio  draft  geldings  and  mares  have 
become  famous  in  the  large  eastern  cities,  due  to  the  shipments  made  by  dealers 
in  certain  sections  of  the  State.  Large  numbers  of  thin  heavy  horses  are  pur- 
chased in  states  to  the  West  of  us,  and  are  brought  into  different  sections  of 
the  State  and  fed  by  farmers  mailing  a  specialty  of  this  business,  being  later 
shipped  East.  Horse  feeding  is  a  special  industry  in  Wayne,  Holmes,  Delaware 
and  other  counties  of  the  State.     It  is  said  that  about  3,000  horses  were  fed  and 


24  ADDRESSES 

shipped  out  of  Orrville  in   1911,     Farmers  not  only  pay  a  high  price  for  these 
horses,  but  sell  them  also  for  top  figures,  $400  not  being  uncommon. 

Light  harness  and  saddle  horses  came  into  the  State  with  the  early  settlers. 
There  was  much  nondescript  blood  in  the  early  days.  Thoroughbreds,  Morgans 
and  what  later  came  to  be  known  as  standard-breds  gradually  secured  a  foothold. 
In  1832  a  trotter  named  Bell  founder  was  brought  to  Ohio  from  New  York,  and 
stood  at  Cleveland  and  elsewhere  and  sired  many  fine  colts.  Along  in  the  forties 
the  Morgans  received  considerable  attention.  With  the  development  of  the  light 
harness  horses  came  increased  interest  in  the  trotter  and  pacer.  Race  tracks  were 
established  over  the  State  and  the  race  became  a  feature  of  the  county  and  tsate 
fairs.  At  Columbus  at  the  present  day,  we  have  one  of  the  celebrated  fast  tracks 
of  the  country.  Here  Cresceus  on  Angus  2nd,  1901,  reduced  the  world's  trotting 
record  to  2:02^,  while  Sweet  Marie  in  1907  reduced  it  again  to  2:02.  In  1909 
at  Cleveland,  the  mare  Hamburgh  Beir  reduced  the  world's  trotting  record  in  a 
race  to  2:01i,  and  in  1910,  against  time.  The  Harvester  reduced  the  world's  trot- 
ting record  to  2 :01  at  Columbus.  The  great  Uhlan,  the  most  noted  gelding  of 
today,  with  a  record  of  1 :58f  is  owned  by  Mr.  Billings  of  Cleveland.  Independ- 
ence Boy,  2 :01^,  one  of  the  best  trotting  geldings  on  the  circuit  is  owned  in 
Columbus  by  Messrs.  Shepard  and  Valentine.  Around  Washington  Court  House, 
much  interest  is  shown  in  the  trotter,  and  here  Bobby  Burns,  a  noted  sire,  has 
long  been  in  the  stud  here.  These  facts  simply  show  that  the  people  of  Ohio 
take  more  than  a  passing  interest  in  the  speed  producing  horse. 

The  last  census  shows  Ohio  well  up  among  the  horse  producing  states,  with 
total  valuation  of  about  $125,000,000. 

■  Since  Seth  Adams  found  his  way  in  1807  from  Dorchester,  Mass.,  to  Mus- 
kingum  County,   Ohio,  with  the   first  Merinos   brought  west  of  the   AUeghanies, 
Ohio   has   ranked   at  the  top,   or   nearly   so   among  the  sheep   producing    States. 
Adams  came  to  Ohio  and  began  to  breed  and  distribute  Merinos  over  this  and 
adjoining  states  and  beyond.     The  Merino  interests  rapidly  developed,  and  W.  R. 
Dickenson,    became    a   noted   promoter    and   pioneer    in   the    eastern   part    of   the 
State.     The  hills  of   Eastern  Ohio  became   dotted  with   Merinos,   and  the  flocks 
-developed  in  a  very  superior  manner.     James  McDowell,  Bezaleel  Wells,  Thomas 
Rotch,  and  Adam  Hildebrand  contributed  much  to   Merino   development.     Along 
in  the  sixties  and  seventies,  many  fine  flocks  were  established,  and  Ohio  became 
a  powerful  factor  in  the  breeding  of  pure  bred  sheep.     In  1870  there  were  nearly 
5,000,000   sheep   in  the   State.     While   the   number   has    fallen   off  materially,   the 
13th  census  for  1910  giving  the  State  3,907,055  sheep  and  lambs.     Ohio  as  a  State 
for  stud  flocks  is  pre-eminently  the  most  important  one  in  the  country.     In  num- 
bers, only  Montana  and  Wyoming  surpass  Ohio,  while  for  the  states  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  no  other  state  may  be  seriously  regarded  as  in  the  same  class 
with  Ohio.     The  sheep  show  at  the  Ohio   State  Fair  each  year  is  the  most  im- 
•portant  even  of  its  kind  on'  the  American  continent,   for   the  largest  and  finest 
exhibit  of  breeding  stock  is  brought  forward  here.     Here  gather  the  most  prom- 
inent exhibitors  and  breeders,  and  many  important  sales  are  made  at  this  show. 
Men  attend  the  show  to  buy  for  the  South  African  and  South  American  trade, 
and  Ohio  bred  sheep  are  purchased  for  wide  distribution  over  the  United  States. 
The  Merino  is,  generally  speaking,  the  leading  breed  in  the  State,  and  the  Ohio 
Merino  is  known  as  the  best  produced  today  in  America.     The  flocks  of   S.  M. 
Cleaver  of  Delaware,  George  Helser  of  Lafayette,  A.  T.  Camber  of  Ada,  Blamer 
&  Son  of  Johnstown,  C.  S.  Chapman  of  Marysville,  Uriah  Cook  &  Sons  of  Peoria, 
J.  J.  Deeds  &  Son  of  Pataskala,  R.  D.  Williams  of  Xenia,  W.  M.  Staley  of  Marys- 
ville and  many  others,  are  well  known.     These  men  have  bred  sheep  that  have 
been  exported,  and  buyers  of  their  stock  have  come  from  over  a  wide  territory. 
The  prestige  once  held  by  Vermont  as  a  Merino  headquarter  has  been  transferred 


ANNUAL   MEETING   OHIO   STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  .  25 

-to  O^io,  -and  now  the  breeder  of  that  State  comes  to  this  one  for  a  source  of 
supply. 

The  Rambouillet,  a  cousin  of  the  American  Merino,  has  a  great  hold  in 
sections  of  Ohio,  and  has  been  bred  here  for  long  over  a  half  century.  The  late 
Mr.  R.  C.  Moulton,  of  Woodstock,  began  with  this  breed  in  1851,  and  main- 
tained a  herd  for  over  fifty  years  continuously.  Mr.  Dwight  Lincoln  of  Milford 
Center,  the  Secretary  of  the  American  Rambouillet  Sheep  Association,  has  not 
only  imported  Rambouillets  from  France  and  Germany,  but  has  tried  his  hand 
at  exporting  to  the  Argentine  Republic.  Ohio  has  a  number  of  Rambouillet 
colonies  in  the  north  and  western  part  of  the  State,  and  from  these  colonies  many 
carloads  of  rams  have  been  shipped  to  western  buyers  for  us  on  the  range.  At 
the  present  time,  Ohio  is  the  only  State  east  of  the  Mississippi  seriously  produc- 
ing Rambouillet  sheep  for  outside  trade.  The  flocks  of  Messrs.  Dwight  Lincoln 
of  Milford  Center,  L.  W.  Shaw  of  Pottersburg,  "Max  Chapman  of  Marysville, 
P.  Clark  &  Son  of  Cable,  and  J.  H.  McMullen  of  Woodstock,  have  distributed 
Rambouillets  over  much  of  the  country. 

The  mutton  breeds  were  introduced  in  Ohio  not  long  after  the  Merino,  and 
Isaac  Maynard  of  Coshocton  did  much  to  promote  some  of  these  sheep.  He  in- 
troduced the  Southdown,  Leicester,  Cotswold  and  Lincoln  in  1834,  and  thus  made 
a  tmique  record.  The  Shorpshire,  the  most  common  of  the  mutton  breeds  here 
today,  was  probably  first  introduced  about  1885,  and  Mr.  Chauncey  Hills  of 
Delaware  was  one  of  the  earliest  importers,  and  a  very  intelligent  and  successful 
breeder.  The  first  Oxfords  were  brought  to  the  State  in  1861,  to  Granville,  and 
since  that  day  but  comparatively,  few  flocks  have  developed  here.  Mr.  W.  A. 
Shafor  of  Hainilton,  has  long  been  noted  asa  breeder,  and  years  ago  he  was  a 
well  known  importer  and  exhibitor.  The  Dorset  has  been  largely  handled  in  the 
past  by  the  Wing  Bros.^  of  Mechanicsburg,  but  not  many  flocks  are  found  in  the 
State.  Some  most  excellent  flocks  of  Cheviots  are  owned  in  Ohio,  notably  those 
of  F.  L.  Postle  &  Son  of  Camp  Chase,  Ed.  S.  Foust  of  Xenia,  W.  D.  Calland  & 
Son  of  DeGrafif,  and  Boyd  &  King  of  Hillsboro.  The  Hampshire  has  been  known 
some  time  in  the  State,  and  C.  O.  Judd  of  Kent,  P.  W.  Artz  of  Osborn,  and 
W.  J.  Cherry  of  Xenia  are  all  prominent  and  most  successful  breeders.  Mr. 
Judd  has  been  a  very  prominent  importer  for  some  years,  and  his  sheep  on  the 
show  circuit  have  been  among  the  most  successful  American  winners.  Chas. 
Leet  &  Son  of  -Mantua  are  prominent  breeders  and  importers  of  Hampshires  and 
Southdowns,  and  are  well  known  as  very  successful  exhibitors  at  the  shows. 
There  are  some  very  excellent  Shropshire  flocks  in  the  State,  although  these  in 
the  main  represent  Ohio  bred  stock.  Messrs.  F.  W.  Palmer  &  Son  of  Pataskala, 
H.  M.  Brown  of  Hillsboro,  Ed.  Post  and  George  F.  Stallsmith  of  Urbana,  Ralph 
Postle,  Camp  Chase  and  J.  D.  Keiter  of  Xenia,  breed  and  maintain  superior 
flocks.  The  beautiful  Southdown  has  its  following,  and  the  Southdown  show  at 
the  Ohio  State  Fair  is  one  of  the  fine  exhibits  of  the.  mutton  breeds.  Among  the 
breeders  of  Southdowns  are  R.  B.  Watt  of  Cedarville,  C.  J.  Stuckey  of  Mechanics- 
burg, Compton  &  Son  of  Kile,  and  C.  L.  Mitchell  of  Lucas. 

The  Longwool  breeds  years  ago  had  a  considerable  hold  in  Ohio,  but  at  the 
present  day  but  few  are  being  produced.  Dr.  H.  M.  Brown  of  Hillsboro,  and 
W.  A.  Lisle  &  Son.  of  West  Liberty,  keep  flocks  of  Lincolns.  There  are  prob- 
ably no  Leicesters  in  the  State,  and  but  few  Cotswolds. 

In  addition  to  its  fame  as  a  sheep  breeding  State,  Ohio  has  long  enjoyed  a 
high  rank  as  a  sheep  feeding  ground.  Large  numbers  of  Western  sheep  and 
lambs  are  shipped  into  the  State  each  year  and  fed  during  the  winter  season. 
Very  considerable  success  has  attended  this  work  in  the  past,  arid  Ohio  fed  sheep 
command  a  comparatively  high  price  in  the  market.  The  Wing  Brothers  of 
Mechanicsburg  have  long  fed  Western  lambs.     On  two   different  years,   Dan  W. 


26  ADDRESSES 

Black  of  Lyndon  won  the  grand  championship  in  the  caiiot  contests  at  the  Inter- 
national Live  Stock  Exposition,  the  highest  honors  obtainable.  Mr.  Black  bred 
these  lambs,  using  Oxford  rams  on  Western  ewes.  They  were  a  very  high  class 
lot  of  lambs.  The  feeding  of  lambs  in  western  and  northwestern"  Ohio  has  had  its 
lips  and  downs,  but  generally  the  balance  has  been  on  the  right  side  of  the  ledger. 
During  the  past  few  years,  a  large  number  of  sheep  have  been  in  and  about 
Fayette  County,  where  good  grass  and  corn  are  easily  produced. 

The  so-called  hot  house  or  winter  lamb,  is  one  of  the  delicacies  of  the  rich 
and  finds  its  best  sale  in  the  large  eastern  markets.  There  are  but  comparatively 
few  winter  lamb  producers.  For  some  years,  Mr.  Geo.  M.  Wilber  of  Marysville 
has  been  the  largest  producer  in  the  United  States,  shipping  close  to  2,000  some 
years.  He  has  a  very  large  flock  of  ewes,  and  begins  to  get  his  lambs  about 
Thanksgiving,  and  ships  daily  during  the  season  to  New  York.  Mr.  J.  B.  Peelle 
of  Sabina  is  another  successful  specialist  in  this  field. 

The  swine  industry  of  Ohio  is  one  of  its  most  important  live  stock  products. 
Hogs  are  generally  grown  all  over  the  state,  but  more  especially  in  the  richer 
corn  producing  sections.  Beginning  early  in  the  last  century,  the  farmer  of 
southwestern  Ohio  devoted  much  attention  to  swine,  having  in  mind  converting 
their  corn  crops  into  pork.  These  men  largely  stimulated  Cincinnati  as  a  pork 
packing  center.  Here  among  these  men,  the  famous  Poland  China  breed  of  hogs 
was  developed  and  came  into  its  greatest  prestige.  Among  the  Shakers  hogs 
were  regarded  as  of  great  importance  as  corn  converters,  and  they  promoted  the 
Poland  China  vigorously.  Many  men  in  Ohio  attained  note  by  the  character  of 
Poland  Chinas  they  bred,  and  the  names  of  Harkrader,  Klever,  Magie,  Duffield, 
Young,  Irwin  and  Bonham,  were  among  the  most  important  breeders..  Since 
these  early  days  has  come  a  long  list  of  prominent  breeders  in  Ohio,  among  which 
Ed.  and  J.  M.  Klever  of  Bloomingburg,  Charles  E.  Keller  of  Newark,  Watkins  & 
Broadway,  Centerville,  A.  C.  Grieve,  Xenia,  J.  H.  Staley,  Pataskala,  J.  M.  Linson, 
South  Solon,  Osburn  Bros.,  Newark,  J.  B.  Fernon,  Leesburg,  L.  C.  McLaughlin 
and  many  others  are  notable.  No  better  Poland  Chinas  are  to  be  found  than  those 
produced  in  Ohio,  and  for  many  years  they  have  had  a  wide  distribution  over  the 
United  States.  The  annual  show  of  Poland  Chinas  at  the  Ohio  State  Fair  has 
nosuperior  in  the  country,  when  quality  and  character  is  considered.  Among  the 
more  notable  sires  of  the  breed  produced  in  Ohio,  have  been  Tom  Cor  win  2nd, 
Tecumseh,  Ideal  Sunshine,  High  Roller,  Thickset,  Chief  Delight,  Chief  Tecumseh, 
etc. 

The  introduction  of  the  Duroc-Jersey  came  with  the  plainer  red  hogs  of 
which  the  Jersey  Red  was  a  pioneer.  For  many  years,  a  few  men  in  Ohio  bred 
the  Duroc-Jersey,  of  which  Mr.  Sam  Morton  of  Camden,  was  a  notable  pioneer. 
These  men  adhered  to  their  favorites,  and  for  a  long  time  bred  and  promoted  a 
red  hog  that  was  of  hardy  constitution,  prolific,  and  fairly  easily  fattened,  but 
was  coarse  and  lacked  quality.  In  the  later  years  the  breed  found  a  wider 
clientage,  and  many  new  men  took  up  this  breed  as  a  favorite.  With  their  efforts 
came  a  very  intelligent  improvement  of  the  Duroc-Jersey,  so  that  today  this  breed 
stands  before  the  public  as  a  different  sort  from  in  early  days.  The  efforts  of 
Messrs.  Sam  Morton  of  Camden,  Ira  Jackson  of  Dayton,  E.  S.  Kelly  of  Yellow 
Springs,  Thos.  Johnson  of  Columbus,  W.  H.  Robbins  of  Springfield,  R.  C.  Watt 
of  Cedarville,  E.  S.  Foust,  Xenia,  and  many  others  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the 
breed.  Today  the  Ohio  Duroc-Jersey  Swine  Association  numbers  about  200  men, 
and  a  more  aggressive  organization  of  the  kind  does  noe  exist.  The  sales  of 
this  breed  have  brought  wonderfully  good  results,  and  in  Ohio,  many  animals 
have  brought  $500,  or  more,  Mr.  Thomas  Johnson  of  Columbus,  paying  $3,500  for 
Orion  Chief,  $2,000  for  King's  Pal,  and  $1,500  for  Instructor,  all  noted  sires  and 
show  boars.     The  influence  of  the  Ohio   Duroc-Jersey  breeders   is   not   surpassed 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE.  27 

if  equalled  by  the  breeders  of  any  other  state,  for  more  really  superior  hogs  of 
the  breea  are  produced  in  Ohio  than  in  any  other  State.  Many  herds  of  the 
Poland  China  have  had  to  give  way  to  the  popularity  of  this  favorite. 

The  Berkshire  was  first  introduced  into  Ohio  in  1835,  and  its  blood  played 
an  important  part  in  the  improvement  of  the  Poland  China.  Many  herdsof  Berk- 
shires  came  into  existence,  and  the  breed  received  much  popularity  in  the  State. 
However,  it  passed  through  some  decline  in  public  favor,  although  in  recent  years, 
many  Berkshires  have  been  established,  and  the  breed  is  more  extensively  de- 
veloped here  than  in  most  of  the  states.  There  are  at  present  some  of  the  notable 
herds  of  the  country  in  Ohio,  especially  those  of  Sheffield  Farm  at  Glendale, 
Tannenbaum  Farm  at  Willoughby,  H.  D.  Helmuth  of  Millersburg,  Alber  Fisher 
of  Orient,  Everson  &  Son  at  Wellington,  J.  L.  Axline  at  Pataskala,  W.  H.  Palmer 
at  Thurston  and  Lippincott  at  Lima.  Among  the  noted  boars  of  the  breed,  Long- 
fellow Premier  C,  Handsome  Lee,  University  Lee,  and  Matchless  Baron  Duke 
have  been  owned  in  recent  years  in  Ohio. 

The  Chester-White  is  famous  in  Ohio,  through  the  great  improvements  made 
by  S.  H.  Todd  of  Ada,  and  L.  B.  Silver  of  Cleveland,  both  of  which  men  have 
long  been  very  intelligent  improvers  of  this  pig,  and  have  brought  much  special 
distinction  to  the  State  through  their  breeding  work.  The  Chester-White  is  well 
distributed  in  Ohio,  and  does  well  here.  From  here,  fine  specimens  of  the  breed 
have  been  sent  over  much  of  the  United   States. 

The  College  of  Agriculture  of  the  Ohio  State  University  has  many  fine  speci- 
mens of  live  stock,  which  are  primarily  for  use  with  the  students,  as  object 
lessons  on  animal  form  and  production.  The  University  owns  pure  bred  specimens 
of  PerCheron,  Clydesdale,  Hackney  and  Morgan  horses;  of  Shorthorn,  Aberdeen- 
Angus,  Jersey,  Holstein-Friesian,  Guernsey,  Ayrshire,  Kerry  and  Devon  cattle;  of 
Merino,  Shropshire,  Southdown,  Cheviot,  Oxford  and  Cotswold  sheep;  of  Berk- 
shire, Poland  China,  Duroc-Jersey,  and  Large  Yorkshire  hogs.  Each  year  the 
University  exhibits  stock  at  the  International  Live  Stock  Exposition,  and  has  met 
with  fair  success  in  competition.  On  two  occasions,  we  have  won  grand  champion- 
ship on  pen  of  barrows,  over  all  breeds,  grades  and  crosses,  with  Berkshires  of 
our  own  breeding,  and  twice  we  have  won  the  Berkshire  breed  championship  on 
barrow,  the  last  being  in  1911.  We  also  have  won  the  breed  championship  on 
Shorthorn,  Galloway  and  Red  Polled  steers  in  past  years. 

No  one  at  all  familiar  with  Ohio,  but  what  must  recognize  her  eminent  fit- 
ness for  live  stock  production.  If  one  knows  of  the  doings  in  the  live  stock  world, 
then  he  will  also  recognize  the  illustrious  part  Ohio  has  played  in  this  work  in. 
the  past,  and  is  today. 

Our  stockmen  need  but  to  push  forward  to  still  newer  and  greater  accom- 
plishments. An  army  of  young  men  is  passing  through  the  College  of  Agriculture, 
and  many  of  these  should  come  out  stimulated  to  identify  themselves  with  the 
great  agricultural  uplift  of  the  future,  and  to  especially  devote  themselves  to 
Ohio's  live  stock  interests.  Our  breeders  of  today  should  encourage  them  and 
support  the  college  literally  in  its  work.  There  is  no  better  field  today  than  right 
here  in  Ohio,  for  engaging  in  the  live  stock  business  as  breeder  or  feeder.  Here 
we  have  the  right  conditions  from  the  various  points  of  view,  and  the  man  who 
believes  in  himself  and  in  Ohio,  with  intelligent  effort  will  secure  success  as  a 
stockman. 


28  ADDRESSES 


FINANCING  THE  FARM. 

—  By  Hon.  Myron  T.   Herrick, 

Cleveland,   Ohio. 

The  division  of  industry  that  occupies  the  most  important  position  in  rela- 
tion to  the  welfare  of  all  the  people,  is  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Agriculture 
is  the  basic  vocation.  The  stability  of  national  life  largely  depends  on  the  exist- 
ence of  a  sound  agricultural  development.  The  history  of  the  older  countries 
oi  the  world  shows  that  there  have  been  recurring  movements  of  the  people  to 
and  from  the  soil.  History  also  teaches  that  the  periods-  of  greatest  prosperity 
in  those  countries  have  been  co-existent  with  the  movements  back  to  the  soil, — 
away  from  the  centers  of  population.  The  rise  and  fall  of  many  nations  and 
civilizations  can  be  traced  in  the  growth  and  decline  of  agricultural  interests. 
As  these  nations  grew  rich  and  powerful,  the  pick  of  the  people,  lured  by  the 
glamor  of  urban  life,  deserted  the  country,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  was 
left  to  the  incompetent  and  the  slothful.  Within  the  cities,  luxury  at  one  extreme 
and  want  at  the  other,  gradually  undermined  the  moral,  intellectual  and  physical 
fibre  of  the  people.  The  result  was  that  thest  nations,  kcking  transforming 
energy  and  the  stamina  for  successful  resistance,  gave  way  before  barbarians 
or  other  nations  with  a  civilization  less  advanced,  but  tnore  virile.  The  pressure 
of  population  in  the  cities  of  this  country  is  making  the  struggle  for  existence, 
by  a  large  proportion  of  the  people,  severe  and  uncertain,  and  destructive  of  in- 
dustrial efficiency  and  of  a  proper  civic  consciousness.  Want  and  misery  are 
inimical  to  the  success  of  a  democracy.  The  overcrowding  in  our  cities  is  pro-, 
ducing  a  large  class  of  people,  whose  low  moral  "and  intellectual  standards  make 
them  unfit  for  citizenship.  It  is  the  existence  of  this  class  in  increasing  numbers 
that  makes  it  more  and  more  difficult  for  us  to  assimilate  the  foreigners -that 
immigrate  ,to   this    country. 

That  our  cities  are  devastating  the  farms  is  emphasized  in  the  last  census 
reports.  Unless  the  cities  re-people  and  regenerate  the  farms,  the  cities  will 
suffer  for  the  want  of  food  and  for  the  want  of  strong  men.  The  brain  of  the 
city,  like  its  food,  is  produced  in  the  country.  There  is  a  growing  appreciation  of 
the  fact  that  the  future  material  and  political  progress  of  the  United  States  largely 
depends  upon  turning  the  trend  of  population  from  the  cities  to  the  country.  It 
also  is  realized  that  to  be  permanent  and  of  the  greatest  utility,  this  movement 
must  be  accompanied  by  a  very  great  improvement  in  the  methods  of  cultivating 
the  soil,  and  a  very  decided  increase  in  the  number  of  farms  that  are  cultivated 
by  owners. 

Since  the  Civil  War  we  have  bent  .our  energies,  with  unparalleled  success, 
to  the  building  up  of  our  "infant  industries."  It  is  now  time  to  turn  some  of  the 
milk  that  has  stimulated  the  "infant  industries"  to  the  nourishment  of  senile  agri- 
culture. We  have  neglected  the  farm ;  we  have  emulated  England  in  our  race 
for  commercial  supr^emacy.  We  have  not  taken  heed  of  the  example  of  France, 
Germany  and  other  European  countries  that  'have  recognized  the  importance  of 
the  equal  development  of  manufacturing  and  agriculture.  The  contest  with  the 
old' world  for  the  market  for  manufactured  products,  on  account  of  the  vast 
prizes  to  be  gained,*  has  drawn  away  from  the  land  a  preponderance  of  the  best 
intellect  of  America,  until  we  now  find  that  the  production  of  foodstuffs  in  the 
United  States  "is  not  increasing  as  rapidly  as  the  population.  From  1900  to  1910 
the  population  of  the  United  States  increased  21%  but  the  number  of  farms  did 
not  grow  as  rapidly.  In  1900,  the  number  of  farms  was  5,737,372,  and  in  1910, 
6,340,357,  —  an  increase  of  10^%.     For  the  whole  United  States  this  is  the  lowest 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE.  29 

rate  of  increase  for  any  decade  since  1850.  If  the  number  of  farms  is  taken  as 
a  measiir^^,  agriculture  shows  a  diminished  rate  of  increase,  and  in  large  areas  of 
the  country  is  practically  stationary.  The  small  increase  in  the  number  of  farms 
has  not  been  offset  by  a  growth  in  the  size  of  farms,  as  the  average  number  of 
acres  in  farms  decreased  from  146  in  1900  to  138  in  1910.  The  increase  in  the 
total  acreage  devoted  to  agriculture  was  only  4.2%  in  ten  years.  However,  im- 
proved land  acreage  makes  a  somewhat  better  showing,  —  the  increase  from  1900 
to  1910  amounting  to  15.2%.  Yet  this  percentage  of  increase  was  only  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  growth  in  population;  which  shows  that  the  number  of  acres  under 
cultivation  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  increase  in  the  number  of  people.  The 
inadequate  increase  in  the  number  of  farms  and  in  the  amount  of  improved  land 
has  not  been  compensated  for  by  a  per  acre  increase  in  the  production  of  staples. 
From  1899  to  1909,  the  average  production  of  oats  decreased  from  31.9  to  28.6 
bushels;  the  per  acre  production  of  wheat  increased  slightly, — 12.5  bushels  in 
1899  to  15.4  in  1909;  and  the  per  acre  production  of  corn  fell  from  28.1  to  25.9 
in  the  same  "period.  Should  such  a  ratio  continue,  it  will  be  but  a  few  years  before 
we  are  dependent  on  the  bounty  of  other  countries  for  much  of  our  food  supply. 
We  are  aghast  when  we  contemplate  the  possibility  of  this  country,  with  its  vast 
domain,  losing  eight  or  ten  years  hence,  not  only  its  ability  to  supply  foreign 
countries  with  food,  but  its  enviable  position  as  a  self-supporting  country.  .  How- 
ever, it  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  ever  be  coi^pelled  to  beg  food  from  other 
nations.  The  quick  comprehension  and  the  ready  adaptability  of  the  American 
people  will  prevent  such  an  unfortunate  situation,  but  the  responsibility  of  correct- 
ing conditions  lies  upon  us  of  this  generation.  The  national  government,  through 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and-  the  states  through  their  agricultural  colleges, 
are  accomplishing  much,  but  we  are  not  moving  fast  enough.  Some  of  the  older 
countries,  particularly  France  and  Germany,  have  been  through  the  same  experi- 
ence. Years  ago  they  recognized  the  .imperative  need  of  using  scientific  methods 
in  farming,  and  both  France  and  Germany  are  now  faf  in  advance  of  the  United 
States  in  the  successful  application  of  modern  scientific  methods  of  cultivating 
the  soil.  In  the  United  States  the  average  yield  of  wheat  per  acre  is  about  15 
bushels ;  in  Germany  it  is  about  28  bushels ;  in  France,  20  bushels.  The  farms 
of  the  United  States  produce,  on  the  average  about  30  bushels  of  oats  per  acre ; 
those  of   Germany,  46  bushels. 

1.  The  statistics  as  to  the  per  acre  production  of  potatoes  are  peculiarly 
striking.  In  1909  France  produced  190  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre,  Germany 
226  bushels,  Russia  135  bushels,  Belgium  286  bushels,  — in  1911  the  United  State§ 
produced  but  80  bushels,  of  potatoes  per  acre. 

There  is  absolutely  no  reason  why  we  should  lag  behind  any  of  the  countries 
of  Europe  in  the  per  acre  production  of  foodstuffs.  By  the  use  of  proper  methods 
the  volume  of  the  farm  products  of  this  country  easily  can  be  doubled. 

2.  In  Germany  and  France,  co-operative  societies,  formed  among  the  agri- 
cultural classes,  have  done  much  to  promote  scientific  farming  and  the  general 
interest  of  farmers  by  enabling  them  to  advantageously  buy  and  sell  products  and 
merchandise.  In  Germany  the  local  societies  have  united  into  branch  societies, 
circuit  and  district  societies  and  these  form  the  basis  of  the  two  general  German 
Agricultural  Organizations  —  the  Imperial  Union  of  Agricultural  Societies  and  the 
General  Union  of  Agricultural  Societies.  In  1905  these  two  organizations  were 
united  for  all  administration  purposes,  and  is  known  as  the  Imperial  Agricultural 
Organization.  This  organization,  in  1909  embraced  67  circuit  unions,  18,333  local 
societies,  and  a  membership  of  ;i,575,000. 

The  local  societies  are  divided  into  12,584  savings  and  loan  societies,  2,128 
co-operative  purchasing  societies,  1,960  dairy  societies  and  approximately  1.591 
societies  devoted  to  various  other  objects.     In  1907  the  total  assets  of  the  savings 


30  ADDRESSES 

and  loan  societies  amounted  to  about  $400,000,000,  the  assets  of  the  co-operative 
purchasing  societies  to  $13,000,000,  and  the  value  of  the  merchandise  purchased 
to  $22,500,000.  The  dairy  societies  have  for  their  object  the  selling  of  dairy 
products  for  the  members  of  the  societies.  Some  idea  as  to  the  importance  of 
these  societies  can  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  the  total  value  of  dairy  products 
amounts  to  $46,385,649.  The  dairy  societies  are  typical  of  those  societies  belong- 
ing to  the  Imperial  Agricultural  Organization  that  have  for  their  purpose  the 
selling  of  the  products  of  the  land.  The  development  of  Agricultural  societies  in 
France  has  been  very  similar  to  that  in  Germany.  It  is  impossible  to  overestimate 
the  advantage  of  such  societies  to  the  agricultural  interest  of  Germany  and  France. 
They  constitute  the  connecting  link  between  the  farmer  and  what  he  produces 
and  the  large  public,  that  buys  and  consumes.  Similar  societies  in  this  country 
undoubtedly  would  add  to  the  independence,  contentment  and  prosperity  of  those 
who  cultivate  the  soil. 

The  permanent  improvement  of  farming  methods,  whereby  the  yield  per  acre 
may  be  substantially  increased,  demands  two  things.  Farmers  must  be  made  to 
appreciate  the  possibilities  of  scientific  methods,  and  taught  how  to  use  such 
methods,  and  they  must  be  supplied  with  funds  to  make  the  needed  changes  and 
improvements.  We  can  not  hope  for  an  increase  in  the  production  of  foodstuffs 
in  this  country  equal  to  the  increase  in  consumption,  unless  the  deserving  tiller 
of  the  soil  can  be  suppHed  with  the  funds  he  needs,  at  low  rates  and  for  long 
periods.  It  is  as  necessary  for  the  farmer  to  have  cheap  money  as  it  is  for  the 
railroad  builder  or  the  manufacturer.  The  availability  of  cheap  money  for  loans 
on  farm  -land  will  make  it  possible  for  may  farm  tenants  to  buy  farms  for  them- 
selves. It  will,  encourage  many  others  to  purchase  land  and  take  up  farming  as 
a  means  of  livelihood.  At  the  present  time  37%  of  all  the  farms  of  the  country 
are  cultivated  by  tenants,  —  an  increase  of  16%  since  1900.  The  cultivation  of 
the  soil  by  owners  is  essential  to  the  highest  agricultural  development.  Tenants 
•will  not  use  the  same  care  and  skill  that  owners  do.  The  young  man  of  today 
who  scans  the  field  of  human  endeavor  will  see,  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 
with  the  aid  of  modern  science,  what  was  not  there  thirty  or  forty  years  ago. 
Profit,  plenty  and  peace  will  be  his  portion  of  he  makes  agriculture  his  pro- 
fession, and  is  equipped  as  well  as  he  must  be  to  make  a  success  in  other  voca- 
tions. Farm  life  today  is  immeasurably  more  attractive  than  it  was  twenty,  or 
even  ten,  years  ago.  Improved  roads,  the  telephone,  rural  free  delivery  and  other 
conveniences,  to  a  large  extent  have  done  away  with  the  depressing  isolation  of 
country  life,  and  it  is  now  possible  for  the  farmer  and  his  family  to  take  part 
in  the  social  life  of  the  community.  Of  those  engaged  in  industrial  pursuits, 
less  than  5%  can  ever  hope  to  "own  their  own  jobs  and  employ  themselves,"  but 
of  those  that  look  to  the  land  for  their  living,  provided  they  are  well  trained  and- 
work  with  energy  and  intelligence,  95%  can  reasonably  hope  to  be  their  own 
masters. 

Experience  in  France  and  Germany  conclusively  proves  that  the  development 
of  successful  scientific  farming  in  large  measure  depends  upon  the  existence  of 
facilities  whereby  land  owners  can  obtain  funds  on  favorable  terms  to  finance 
improvements.  In  France  and  Germany  there  are  numbers  of  organizations,  uni- 
formly successful,  that  loan  money  to  farmers  —  particularly  to  those  owning  and 
cultivating  small  tracts  of  land,  on  long  and  easy  terms.  These  organizations  have 
been  so  successful  that  they  can  loan  funds  to  land  owners  on  terms  as  favorable 
a3  those  secured  by  large  railroad  and  industrial  corporations  in  this  country. 
In  this  country  loans  on  farm  land  as  security,  with  few  exceptions,  have  re- 
tained their  primitive  immobile  form.  The  farmer  when  he  needs  funds  for 
improvements,  additional  stock  or  new  implements  only  can  borrow,  if  at  all, 
in  his   own  immediate  neighborhood   and   for  short  periods.     The   consequence   is 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  31 

that,  ^iiot  infrequently,  he  is  unable  to  get  funds  when  needed,  and  usually  he  is 
obliged  to  pay  a  rate  of  interest  higher  than  that  to  which  the  nature  of  the 
security  he  has  to  offer  entitles  him.  There  are  in  this  country  no  organizations 
by  which  loans  on  land  —  the  safest  of  all  security,  can  be  mobilized,  and  access 
obtained  to  the  wide  stable  investment  market. 

To  show  what  has  been  accomplished  in  other  countries  in  this  direction, 
descriptions  follow  of  the  Landschaften  Associations  in  Germany  and  the  Credit 
Fonder  in  France. 

The  Landschaften  Associations  are  societies  of  farmers.  The  members  have 
the  right  to  issue  mortgage  bonds  based  upon  the  mortgages  held  by  the  Asso- 
ciation. These  bonds  are  guaranteed  by  all  the  members  of  the  Association. 
By  virtue  of  such  a  guarantee  the  bonds  are  readily  salable  upon  favorable  terms, 
throughout  the  empire,  to  banks  and  all  classes  of  investors.  By  means  of  these 
bonds,  and  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  issued,  the  farmers  belonging  to 
the  associations  can  command  the  money  market  as  readily  as  great  business 
corporations  or  municipalities.  Those  who  join  the  associations  must  have  their 
estates  appraised,  and  they  are  permitted  to  make  mortgage  loans  up  to  one-half 
or  one-third  of  the  appraised  value  of  their  land.  The  association  assumes  the 
responsibility  for  the  payment  of  the  loan.  The  association  pays  the  interest  and 
also  the  principal,  when  due,  for  which  it  is  reimbursed  by  the  borrower.  In 
order  to  show  the  actual  working  of  one  of  these  organizations,  I  will  describe 
one  that  has  its  headquarters  at. Kiel.  This  institution  has  the  right  to  acquire 
real  property,  and  to  issue  mortgage  bonds  payable  to  the  holders.  Only  those 
that  own  agricultural  or  wooded  lands  of  a  certain  earning  power  or  determined 
A-alue  can  become  members.  As  all  those  that  join  the  association  need  capital, 
the  initiation  fee  is  calculated  at  the  rate  of  1-10  of  1%  of  the  amount  to  be 
borrowed.  Mortgage  bonds  are  issued  in  denominations  of  5,000,  2,000,  1,000,  500 
and  200  marks,  in  four  classes,  bearing  3%,  3|-%,  4%  or  4^%  interest.  The  bonds 
are  quoted  and  sold  on  the  financial  exchanges  and  find  a  ready  market.  The 
Association  guarantees  the  payments  of  the  bonds  when  due.  If  the  capital  of  the 
Association  is  not  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  then  the  individual  members  become 
jointly  liable  to  an  amount  not  to  exceed  5%  of  the  money  loaned  and  not  re- 
paid. The  total  amount  of  the  bonds  of  the  Association  in  circulation  must  not 
be  in  excess  of  the  total  amount  of  the  mortgage  claims  against  its  members  which 
the  Association  holds.  The  bonds  are  redeemed  at  intervals,  the  numbers  being 
drawn  by  lot.  The  mortgagor  can  negotiate  a  loan  through  the  Association  at 
3%,  3^-%,  4%  or  4J%.  He  selects  a  rate  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
money  market.  The  mortgagor  pays  into  the  Association,  in  addition  to  the 
interest,  and  until  the  termination  of  the  loan,  i  of  1%  for  amortization,  and 
1-10  of  1%  as  a  contribution  to  the  cost  of  administration.  If  the  mortgagor  fails 
to  meet  his  obligations  to  the  Association,  it  may  demand  full  payment  of  the 
loan  upon  six  months'  notice,  and  if  the  payment  is  not  then  made,  the  property 
is  sold.  If  property  on  which  a  loan  has  been  made  decreases  in  value  partial 
repayment  of  the  loan  is  demanded.  The  surplus  receipts  of  of  the  Association 
go  into  a  reserve  fund  from  which  losses  are  made  good.  The  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Association  is  under  the  supervision  of  the  Prussian  Minister 
of  Agriculture,  and  under  the  special  control  of  a  Royal  Commissioner,  who  is 
authorized,  at  any  time,  to  inspect  the  books  and  fund,  to  attend  meetings,  and 
to  call  meetings.  On  January  1,  1908,  the  bonds  of  the  Landschaftliche  Credit 
verband,  were  as  follows :  * 

Marks. 

4  per  cents '. . . .      7,044,800        $1,676,662.40 

3^  per  cents 33,481,800         7,968,668.40 

3  per  cents 1,813,200  431,541.60 


32  ADDRESSES 

In  1908  the  largest  loan  amounted  to  62,600  marks  ($14,898.80)  and  the 
smallest  600  marks   ($142.80).     The  average  was  13,000  marks   ($3,284.40). 

The  Credit  Fonci^r  de  France  established  to  satisfy  an  imperative  need  is 
a  limited  liability  company  with  a  capital  of  200,000,000  francs,  operating  under 
the  supervision  of  the  state.  In  the  beginning  (1852)  the  government  granted 
the  Credit  Foncier  a. subsidy  of  ten  million  francs  in  order  to  help  it  make  loans 
at  a  rate  advantageous  for  that  time.  The  subsidy  was  not  renewed,  and  the 
state  does  not  now  intervene  except  occassionally  to  exercise  its  control.  The 
purposes  of  the  Credit  Foncier  are : 

1.  Lending  money  to  land  owners,  counties,  communes  and  public  services. 

2.  To  create  and  negotiate  real  estate  bonds,  or  mortgage  bonds  to  a  value 
which  cannot  exceed  the  amount  of  the  sums  due  from  its  borrowers. 

The  company  is  permitted  to  receive  deposits,  but  the  aggregate  of  the  de- 
posits must  not  exceed  one  hundred  million  francs.  The  funds  received  on  de- 
posit are  employed  in  discounting  commercial  bills  on  condition  that  they  have 
two  signatures  and  do  not  run  over  three  months.  The  shares  of  the  Credit 
Foncier,  which  are  dealt  in  on  the  Bourse,  are  issued  at  five  hundred  francs,  and 
anyone  can  own  them.  The  stock  now  receives  6%  dividends  and  sells  for  about 
750  francs  a  share.  The  government  appoints  the  governor  and  two  sub-governors. 
There  must  also  be  three  treasurers  general  among  the' 23  members  of  the  council 
of  administration.  These  treasurers,  as  well  as  other  adrninistrators,  are  appointed 
by  the  general  assembly  of  the  company.  The  general  assembly  represents  all 
the  stockholders,  and  is  composed  of  the  200  who  own  the  largest  amount  of 
stock. 

The  two  principal  kinds  of  operations  of  the  Credit  Foncier  are  mortgage 
loans  and  communal  loans.  The  total  of  these  two  kinds  of  operations  now 
amount  to  more  than  four  billion  francs.  So  far  as  the  possible  adoption  of 
some  of  the  methods  of  the  Credit  Foncier  in  the  United  States  is  concerned,  that 
part  of  its  operations  covering  the  making  of  loans  to  land  owners  is  of  the 
greatest  interest.  Our  municipalities  now  have  a  broad  and  steady  market  for 
their  securities. 

The  Credit  Foncier  makes  loans  to  land  owners  on  the  following  terms : 

1.  Short  time  loans,  without  amortization,  for  a  period  of  from  one  to  nine 
years. 

2.  Long  time  loans,  with  annual  amortization,  for  a  period  of  from  ten  to 
seventy-five  years. 

The  rate  of  interest  on  the  loans  is  4.30%  per  annum,  and  the  rate  is  the 
same  for  all  kinds  of  property.  Loans  are  made  only  on  first  mortgage  security, 
and  the  amount  of  the  loan  cannot  exceed  one-half  of  the  value  of  the  property, 
except  that  loans  on  wines  and  timber  must  not  exceed  one-third  of  their  vavlue. 
When  the  loan  is  made  for  a  short  period,  the  borrower  pays  each  year  only  the 
amount  of  interest  due  and  the  principal  amount  must  be  paid  in  full  at  the  end 
of  the  term  of  the  loan  —  one  to  nine  years.  Long  time  loans  are  gradually  paid 
by  means  of  an  annuity,  which  includes  the  interest  and  a  small  fraction  of  the 
principal.  As  a  rule  the  borrower  himself  fixes  the  length  of  the  time  that  the 
loan  is  to  run.  The  amortization  extends  over  the  whole  period  of  the  loan,  so 
that  the  total  of  the  interest  and  capital  is  repaid  from  a  constant  yearly  annuity. 
Consequently,  the  most  of  amortization  depends  on  the  length  of  the  loan  and  on 
the  rate  of  interest.  On  a  loan  running  for  75  years  at  4.30%  interest  the  annuity 
—  including  interest  and  amortization,  is  at  the  rate. of  4.48%  per  annum.  The 
borrower  has  the  right  to  pay  the  principal  of  the  loan  at  any  time,  and  to  profit 
by  the  amortization  already  made.  He  can  also  make  partial  payments  and  there- 
by reduce  the  amount  of  the  anuity.  The  land  owner,  who  wishes  to  build,  can 
obtain  from  the  Sous  Comptoir  des  Entrepreneus  —  a  society  connected  with  the 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  3^ 

Credit  Foncier,  a  mortgage  credit  based  on  the  value  of  the  land  and  of  the 
building  to  be  erected.  When  the  building  is  finished  the  credit  can  be  converted 
into  a  Credit  Foncier  loan. 

The  real  estate  bonds  issued  by  the  Credit  Foncier  have  no  fixed  maturity^ 
but  are  called  for  payment  by  lot.  Each  payment  of  bonds  must  be  of  such  an 
amount  that  the  bonds  remaining  in  circulation  will  not  exceed  the  balance  of  the 
principal  owed  upon  the  hypotheticated  loans.  If  the  government  approves,  there 
can  be  added  to  the  bonds  called  for  payment  certain  prizes  and  premiums.  The 
funds  received  from  the  usual  amortization,  or  anticipated  payments  must  be 
used  to  amortize  or  redeem  bonds,  or  to  make  new  loans.  In  general  the  bonds 
bear  3%  on  the  nominal  capital,  and  the  cost  of  the  loans  to  the  company,  in- 
cluding interest  and  amortization,  is  about  3.60%  which  places  them  on  a  par  with 
municipal  bonds.  At  the  present  time  the  company  is  redeeming  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  about  30,000,000  francs  per  year,  but  the  amount  of  redemptions  can 
be  increased,  if  it  becomes  necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  balance  between  the 
bonds  and  the  loans.  The  bonds  are  sold  by  public  subscription.  About  every 
three  years  the  company  issues  bonds  sufficient  to  yield  from  300,000,000  to 
350,000,00*^  francs.  The  bonds  are  subscribed  for  by  people  of  small  means,  and 
usually  remain  in  their  hands;  consequently  the  quotations  of  the  bonds  show 
little  fluctuation.  The  company  always  keeps  a  few  bonds  on  hand  for  sale,  but 
the  bulk  of  them  are  disposed  of  by  public  subscription. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  here  to  inaugurate  a  new  and  untried  scheme  of 
finance  to  enable  farmers  of  the  United  States  to  borrow  at  low  rates  and  for 
long  periods.  We  can  profit  by  the  long  and  successful  experience  of  other 
countries.  '  We  can  take  the  French  and  German  models  and  revamp  them  to- 
harmonize  with  conditions  in  this  country.  The  principles  that  underlie  the  mort- 
gage loan  organizations  in  France  and  Germany  are  familiar  to  us  here,  and  we 
know  that  they  are  economically  sound.  If  those  countries  could  successfull)r 
initiate,  can  we  not  adopt?     ' 

There  are  several  conditions  that  must  be  observed  if  organizations  for  the 
loaning  of  funds  to  land  owners  in  this  country  are  to  be  successful.  The  cor- 
porations or  associations  must  have  a  large  capital.  They  must  be  established 
for  the  single  purpose  of  loaning  money  to  land  owners  at  low  rates  and  for  as. 
long  periods  as  possible.  There  should  be  no  profit  to  promoters  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  such  corporations,  and  the  return  to  the  stockholders  must  be  kept  within 
very  reasonable  limits.  In  other  words,  the  borrowers,  and  not  the  stockholders,, 
should  be  the  chief  beneficiaries  of  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  The  active 
assistance  and  co-operation  of  the  state  or  nation  must  be  obtained.  The  mort- 
gages held  by  the  company  should  be  exempt  from  taxation.  Special  laws  would 
be  needed  and  the  provision  made  for  thorough  examination  by  state  or  national 
authorities,  or  both.  It  might  be  wise  to  have  some  of  the  executive  officers 
receive  their  appointment   from  the  state  or  nation. 

There  are  many  patriotic  men  of  great  ability  heretofore  engaged  in  the 
accumulation  of  wealth  who,  realizing,  as  many  of  them  do,  the  supreme  im- 
portance to  the  lasting  welfare  of  the  nation  of  stimulating  and  assisting  the 
movement  of  population  back  to  the  farm,  would  be  willing  to  give  freely  of 
their  time  and  money  to  an  undertaking  of  this  sort.  The  old  school  of  public 
spirited  business  men  regarded  material  prosperity  as  the  end  of  everything,  but 
of  late  business  men  have  assumed  a  somewhat  different  attitude  and  it  is  due  to 
them  that  most  of  the  reforms  in  business  and  political  life  have  been  successful. 
Prosperity  must  be  guarded  as  sacredly  as  in  the  times  of  McKinley,  but  it  i» 
now  more  fully  recognized  that  there  are  other  essentials  that  must  go  hand  in- 
hand  with  prosperity.  Because  of  their  recognition  of  these  things  Americar> 
business  men  undoubtedly  can  be  relied  upon  to  assist  the  development  of  agri»- 

9      AD.  BD.   AGR. 


34  ADDRESSES 

culture  in  this  country,  not  only  because  it  will  advance  our  material  prosperity, 
but  also  because  it  will  broaden,  strengthen  and  purify  the  basis  of  American 
political  and  economic  life. 

At  the  convention  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  held  in  New  Or- 
leans last  month,  a  committee  of  seven  on  agricultural  improvement  and  farm 
financing  was  appointed.  This  committee  will  consider  thoroughly  the  subject  of 
farm  financing  in  relation  to  conditions  in  this  country,  and  in  its  report  to  the 
next  convention  will  make  same  definite  recommendations,  which  might  well  em- 
brace a  plah  which  could  be  used  as  the  basis  of   state   or  national  legislation. 

The  demand  for  cheap  money  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture  is  nation  wide, 
and  the  effort  to  supply  it  should  interest  all  who  appreciate  the  fundamental 
importance  of  national  prosperity  and  progress. 


BOOST  OHIO 

By  Fixing  the  Roads  and  Lifting  the  People  Out  of  the  Mud. 

By  Jesse   Taylor, 
Secretary  The  Ohio  Good  Roads  Federation  and  Editor  of  Better  Roads. 

Better  roads  are  being  discussed  everywhere  —  in  the  office,  bank,  school, 
church,  woman's  clubs,  boards  of  trade,  grange  meetings,  bankers'  conventions, 
railway  meetings,  on  the  streets  and  along  the  roads. 

Good  roads  are  civilizers. 

Good  roads  are  educators. 

Good  roads  pay  for  themselves. 

Good  roads  are  as  essential  as  harbors. 

(Good  roads  are  promoters  of  good  health. 

<}ood  roads  convert  swamps  into  homesteads. 

Good  roads  are  mile-stones  of  civilization. 

Good  roads  bind  people  together  in  industry,  intelligence  and  patriotism. 

Good  roads  will  bring  the  country  to  the  town  with  its  produce  and  will 
-send  the  town  to  the  country  for  pure  air  and  good  health. 

Good  roads  will  convert  barren  lands  into  fertile  fields. 

Good  roads  will  enhance  the  value  of  everything  they  touch. 

Good  roads  will  bring  good  returns  to  everything  that  trav-el  them. 

Good  roads  will  facilitate  and  cheapen  transportation. 

Good  roads  will  bring  untold  wealth  to  the  producers. 

Good  roads  will  save  millions  to  the  consumers. 

Good  roads  will  be  the  solution  of  the  rural  problem. 

Good  roads  will  make  country  life  more  attractive  than  city  life. 

Good  roads  will  make  the  consumer's  dollar  go  further  and  will  put  into 
the  farmer's  pocket  a  greater  portion  of  that  dollar. 

Good  roads  are  indispensable  to  our  growth  and  progress. 

Good  roads  will  make  possible  the  three  great  links  of  civilization  —  the 
model  home  and  the  model  country  school. 

Good  roads  mean  a  higher  life  for  the  people  of  the  states  upon  whom 
rest  the  responsibility  of  our  government  and  our   Christian  civilization. 

Eyery  dollar  expended  in  encouraging  road  building,  every  dollar  employed 
to  carry  expert  advice  on  road  construction  into  every  section  of  our  state  is 
a  distinct  contribution  to  the  welfare,  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  the 
state. 

Hell  on  earth  is  on   a  back  road  with  a  neighbor  landowner  who  will  not 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  35 

sign  a  petition  for  the  construction  of  a  good  road. 

The  vahie  of  a  man's  services  to  society  is  in  proportion  to  his  ability  to 
work  with  other  men.  Try  it  once  on  the  roads  and  make  better  roads  and 
better  men. 

Throw  away  your  clubs,  stop  your  knocking  and  get  into  the  good  roads 
campaign  in  Ohio, 

Bad  roads  are  the  signs  of  backwardness,  indolence  and  careless  citizenship. 

Every  day  a  road  is  bad  the  users  of  it  and  the  purchasers  of  supplies 
hauled  over  it  loose  money. 

Bad  roads  are  responsible  to  a  great  degree  for  driving  the  young  people 
from  the  farm  into  the  cities. 

Bad  roads  empty  the  benches  in  the  school  houses  and  are  largely  responsible 
for  four  hundred  abandoned  church  buildings  in  Ohio. 

Bad  roads  play  an  important  part  in  what  we  eat  and  wear. 

Bad  roads  are  an  extravagance  that  no  civilized  people  can  afford. 

Bad  roads  keep  the  farmers  at  home  to  read  the  catalogues  of  mail  order 
houses. 

Bad  roads  prevent  the  farmer  from  delivering  the  corn  from  which  he  is 
expected  to  realize  money  with  which  to  pay  an  account  with  his  local  mer- 
chant and  the  note  due  in  bank. 

Bad  roads  have  been  tried  by  the  farmer,  doctor,  lawyer,  merchant,  preacher, 
trader,  teacher,  the  old  and  the  young,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the 
low,  the  millionaire  and  the  tramp,  the  drunk  and  the  sober  and  the  saint  and 
the  sinner,  who,  although  familiar  with  the  history  of  bad  roads  of  the  past 
and  the  waste  of  untold  millions  due  to  bad  roads,  have  just  commenced  to 
realize  that  the  time  is  at  hand  for  the  people  of  Ohio  to  demand  a  change  in 
road  conditions  and  to  pull  themselves  out  of  the  mud. 

Right  now  is  the  time  to  fix  the  roads  and  spend  less  time  in  cussing  the 
•middle-man  for  with  good  roads  we  can  dodge  him  and  reach  the -consumer. 

Elbert  Hubbard  says  "Instead  of  hitching  your  wagon  to  a  star,  suppose 
you  get  in  touch  with  the  good  roads   movement." 

I  am  interested  in  the  question  of  better  roads,  am  not  committed  to  any 
pet  scheme,  am  not  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  road  materials  or  road 
machinery  and  care  not  who  gets  the  glory  so  long  as  the  people  of  Ohio  get 
the  results — better  roads. 

I  am  in  the  better  roads  campaign  with  the  people  to  win  a  victory  for 
better  roads  everywhere  to  be  constructde  and  maintained  less  and  less  at  the 
expense  of  the  abutting  land  owner  and  more  and  more  by  county,  state  and  na- 
tional  assistance. 

I  am  opposed  to  all  laws,  either  existing  or  proposed,  which  place  all  the 
burden  of  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  public  roads  upon  the  farmer  and 
the  abutting  land  owner. 

The  highways  of  the  state  are  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  people  of 
the  state  and  are  free  to  inter-state  travel  which  has  all  been  made  possible,  with 
but  few  exceptions,  by  direct  tax  upon  the  abutting  and  near-by  land  owner 
who  have  blazed  the  way  and  laid  the  foundation  for  a  great  system  of  public 
highways  throughout  the  states  and  nation-wide  extent. 

The  state  of  Ohio  has  spent  millions  of  dollars  in  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  its  canals  and  but  a  meager  sum  "for  the  improvement  of  the 
wagon  roads  of  the  state  upon  the  theory  that  money  spent  for  canals  would 
lessen  transportation  by  water  and  without  any  consideration  whatever  of  the 
much   greater  demand   for  cheaper  transportation  by  land. 

Now  is  the  time  for  Ohio  to  follow  the  splendid  examples  set  by  Cali- 
fornia,   New  York  and   Pennsylvania"  and  issue  the  bonds  of  the  state'  for  state 


36  ADDRESSES 

aid  in  the  construction  of  a  complete  system  of  inter-county  roads  and  let  future 
generations  and  all  property  of  the  state  help  pay  the  cost. 

The  Constitutional  Convention  now  in  sesion  should  submit  an  amendment 
to  the  present  Constitution  to  permit  the  issuing  of  state  bonds,  for  state  aid 
in  road  construction,  in  an  amount  not  to  exceed  one  per  cent  on  the  grand 
tax  duplicate  of  the  state,  which,  when  spread  out  over  all  the  property  of  the 
state  can  be  paid  off,  .both  principle  and  interest,  at  the  end  of  twenty-five  years- 
at  an  average  per  capita  cost  of  fifty-five  cents. 

In  addition  to  state  aid  I  believe  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  as 
much  right  to  appropriate  money  for  either  money  aid  to  the  states  in  road  con- 
struction and  maintenance  or  in  the  building  of  great  national  roads  as  it  has  ta 
appropriate  money  for  the  building  of  public  roads  in  Alaska,  the  Canal  Zone 
and  the  islands  of  the  sea. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  OHIO. 

•  By  Hon.   Frank  Miller^ 

State  School  Commissioner. 

Mr.  Sandles  has  asked  me  to  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  the  schools  of 
Ohio.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  it  is  his  desire  and  your  desire  that  I  confine 
my  remarks  to  the  rural  schools.  Some  of  you  may  wonder  what  I  may  know 
about  the  country.  Well,  I  will  tell  the  story  that  you  have  aften  heard  from 
others,  "I  was  reared  on  the  farm."  Not  only  was  I  reared  on  the  farm  but 
my  interest  in  farm  work  and  farm  life  have  never  ceased.  In  fact  my  neigh- 
bors call  me  the  farmer.  I  can  hold  the  handles  of  the  plow  as  well  as  the  rest 
of  you,  and  I  still  occasionally  take  the  pitchfork  in  harvest  time  and  jump  onto- 
a  hay  doodle  and  toss  it  on  the  wagon  so  that  the  fellow  on  the  other  side  must 
hustle  to  keep  up. 

Ohio  has  not  only  given  birth  to  many  great  men  who  have  acquired  national 
fame  but  has  also  given  birth  to  the  township  centralized  school  as  that  term  is 
now  understood.  This  form  of  rural  school  is  considered  by  educators  as  the 
most  efficient  school  for  the  rural  districts  and  I  am  proud  to  be  able  to  say  that 
it  is  an  Ohio  product.  ^We  have  in  this  State  many  townships  that  are  under  the 
supervision  of  able  township  superintendents.  Here  too  we  find  good  school  work 
and  the  teachers  are  guided  and  encouraged  to  render  still  more  efficient  service. 
There  are  many  faithful  teachers  in  the  townships  that  are  not  organized  and  are 
without  a  superintendent  but  by  earnest  endeavors  on  their  part  they  too  are 
rendering  excellent  service. 

You  may  have  observed  that  some  poor  schools  have  been  reported  as  exist- 
ing in  Ohio.  Ohio  is  not  by  any  means  the  only  State  in  the  Union  that  has 
some  poor  schools,  but  Ohio  has  awaked  to  the  importance  of  having  an  efficient 
school  system,  not  for  a  part,  but  for  all  of  her  children. 

That  the  very  worst  conditions  have  been  brought  to  light  is  a  wholesome 
sign  of  a  better  future.  The  citizenship  of  Ohio  will  insist  upon  giving  every 
boy  and  girl  within  the  domain  of  this  State  an  opportunity  for  an  education. 
It  is  my  earnest  hope  that  within  the  next  few  years  these  neglected  schools  will 
be  regenerated  into  newer  and  better  schools.  We  boast  of  this  country  being  a 
land  of  equal  opportunities,  then  by  all  means  let  us  get  together  and  make  it  so. 
The  revelation  of  school  conditions  is  a  boost  because  it  leads  to  betterment. 
We  must  keep  in  mind  also  the  fact  that  Ohio  has  some  of  the  best  common 
schools,  and  country  school  buildings  to  be  found  anywhere.  Ohio  has  more  high 
schools  than  New  York  and  Massachusetts  combined,  and  this  is  saying  a  whole 
lot  for  the  schools  of  Ohio.     The  country  boy  hears  the  city  boy  tell  about  his. 


ANNUAL    MEETING   OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  37 

high  school  studies.  He  becomes  interested  and  wants  to  go  to  high  school  him- 
self. If  he  has  no  high  school  near  home  his  tendency  is  to  go  to  the  city  high 
school.  There  should  be  a  high  school  near  enough  so  that  every  country  boy 
and  girl  can  attend,  and  Ohio  is  trying  to  meet  this  demand. 

At  the  present  time  the  State  each  year  pays  two  dollars  for  every  enu- 
merated youth  in  each  school  district.  If  this  were  raised  to  four  dollars  per 
enumerated  youth  instead  of  two,  much  would  be  done  toward  the  solution  of 
this  difficult  problem.  Such  a  law  would  be  a  just  law.  For  instance  there  are 
communities  in  this  State  where  mining  is  almost  the  sole  industry.  There  is 
very  little  property  of  high  value  for  taxation  and  consequently  their  schools  must 
suffer.  They  pour  out  a  stream  of  wealth  of  coal  and  iron  ore  which  spreads 
over  the  entire  State  to  furnish  the  power  which  turns  the  factory  wheels  and 
make  possible  wealth  whose  benefits  they  do  not  reap.  It  gives  railroads  business 
and  permeates  all  the  trades  and  industries.  If  the  next  legislature  will  allow 
four  dollars  for  each  enumerated  youth  it  will  bestow  untold  blessings  upon  the 
schools  of  the  poorer  districts  and  those  districts  which  are  in  distress  will  be 
relieved. 

One  of  the  most  important  measures  of  a  constructive  legislation  passed  last 
winter  is  the  Cahill  Law  which  provides  for  the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  rural  and  village  districts  of  Ohio.  In  the  past  the  rural 
schools  were  not  in  touch  with  the  life  of  their  communities.  In  large  part  they 
were  imitations  of  city  schools  teaching  not  country  life  but  city  life.  The  chil-- 
dren  had  held  up  before  them  ideals  taken  not  from  the  country  but"  from  the 
city.  They  had  held  up  before  them  for  their  ideals  great  lawyers  and  doctors, 
generals  and  the  great  masters  of  finance  without  ever  pointing  out  some  farmer 
who  possesses  the  sterling  qualities  of  true  manhood. 

Not  many  weeks  ago  I  opened  a  text  book  which  had  been  in  use  in  our 
schools  and  saw  on  the  first  page  the  picture  of  a  lady  leading  a  little  boy  by  the 
hand.  She  was  pointing  to '  a  temple  which  was  standing  on  a  hill.  Across  the 
end  of  the  temple  was  printed  the  word  knowledge.  On  that  temple  was  a  dome 
which  had  on  it  the  word  Fame.  I  take  this  picture  to  mean  that  the  lady  was 
the  goddess  of  learning  and  that  she  was  telling  that  Httle  boy  that  he  must 
acquire  knowledge  in  order  that  he  may  become  famous.  Then  that  boy  had 
held  up  before  him  the  fame  of  an  Alexander,  a  Caesar,  a  Napoleon  and  men  of 
that  type,  heroes  of  the  battlefield,  without  even  referring  to  the  heroes  of  every- 
day life  and  of  peace.  Then  those  same  tachers  would  plead  for  universal  peace 
and  be  answered  by  what?  Another  battleship  from  every  one  of  the  great  nations 
of  the  earth.  The  implements  of  destruction.  The  implements  which  bring  noth- 
ing but  misery  and  distress  instead  of  happiness  to  the  people  of  this  world. 
Under  the  influence  of  such  teaching  in  the  past  what  could  be  more  natural  than 
that  our  boys  and  girls  in  the  country  be  restless,  and  as  they  grow  up  to  be  men 
and  women  they  will  turn  toward  the  city  where  they  hope  to  realize  those  ideals 
they  have  been  so  faithfully  taught  during  their  childhood  days. 

I  have  a  son  in  the  public  school,  but  I  do  not  want  him  to  be  taught  that 
he  must  learn  his  lessons  in  order  that  he  may  become  famous.  I  want  the  aim 
of  his  teaching  to  be  such  that  he  will  become  an  honest,  upright,  and  useful 
citizen.  When  this  is  done,  I  as  his  father  will  be  satisfied.  When  such  teaching 
is  found  in  every  school  room  the  public  schools  will  be  fulfilling  the  mission  for 
which  they  are  intended.     House  with  children  in  it. 

The  teaching  of  agriculture  is  bringing  a  new  atmosphere  into  the  country 
school.  The  country  school  is  coming  in  touch  with  the  life  and  interests  of  its 
community.  Boys  and  girls  are  beginning  to  see  that  in  the  country  there  are 
great  possibilities  and  that  it  is  the  best  place  in  which  to  live.  Mr.  Ivins,  one 
of  the  supervisors  of  agricultural  education  told  me  that  when  he  was  called  to 


38  ADDRESSES 

supervise  the  schools  of  Turtlecreek  township  in  Warren  County  and  introduce 
agriculture  into  the  schools,  he  asked  the  pupils  in  each  school  who  intended  to 
remain  on  the  farm  to  raise  their  hands.  Fifteen  percent  raised  hands 
indicating  that  they  intended  to  remain  on  the  farm.  After  the  subject  was 
taught  for  four  years,  he  again  asked  the  same  question.  Eighty-five  percent 
indicated  that  they  intended  to  remain  on  the  farm.  This  is  an  example  of  what 
the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  schools  of  Ohio  is  accomplishing. 

The  boys  and  girls  are  beginning  to  see  that  Ohio  has  great  agricultural 
possibilities.  School  work  is  being  more  closely  related  to  life-work  than  ever 
before.  The  new  agricultural  work  is  improving  country  life  conditions  every- 
where. There  is  fine  co-operation  where  it  never  before  existed.  A  better  under- 
standing between  teachers  and  patrons  has  come  about  and  conditions  in  Ohio 
schools  are  travelling  toward  the  ideal. 

Last  winter  I  placed  a  few  books  on  elementary  agriculture  within  reach  of 
my  little  daughter  of  eleven  years  to  see  what  she  would  do.  She  had  been  read- 
ing fairy  tales  but  on  opening  one  of  the  books  on  agriculture  she  became  so 
absorbed  that  her  mind  was  literally  buried  in  that  book  for  over  an  hour. 
Finally  she  looked  up  and  with  a  beaming  countenance  said,  "Papa  are  we  going 
to  study  agriculture  in  our  school?"  I  said  no,  my  dear,  you  are  not.  And  she 
said  with  a  changed  countenance  and  pleading  voice  why  not  it  is  so  interesting. 
I  am  trying  to  rear  my  children  under  country  influence  as  much  as  I  can,  be- 
cause I  believe  it  is  the  best  influence  under  which  children  can  grow. 

Nature  is  the  most  beautiful  thing  on  God's  green  earth  whether  it  is  the 
sunset  sky  with  its  glowing  colors,  the  fleecy  clouds  floating  in  the  air  or  the 
flowers  and  animals  of  the  fields.  Have  you  ever  stopped  to  think  that  what  one 
can  see  in  an  object  depends  upon  his  previous  training  or  occupafion.  The 
lumberman  who  goes  through  a  forest  sees  the  great  trunks  of  great  trees  and 
the  saw  logs  they  will  make.  He  sees  the  commercial  side  of  the  forest.  The 
hunter  goes  through  the  forest.  He  sees  no  saw  logs  but  soon  discovers  the 
hole  in  the  tree  trunk  which  is  the  den  of  the  raccoon  or  the  other  denizens  of 
the  forest.  He  sees  the  pleasure  side.  The  botanist  who  goes  through  that  forest 
sees  the  leaves  of  the  trees,  their  buds  and  flowers,  and  the  humble  flowers  and 
vines  which  grow  at  his  feet.  He  sees  the  scientific  phase  of  that  forest.  Finally 
there  comes  the  poet  who  sees  things  none  of  the  others  have  seen.  He  sees  the 
finer  elements  in  nature.  He  sees  those  things  which  appeal  to  our  finer  sensi- 
bilities, bring  inspiration,  and  awaken  the  emotions  in  the  heart  of  man  that  he 
may  sing  the  glory  of  the  forest  in  song  and  verse.  He  who  has  never  lived 
in   country  —  appreciate    literature. 

Agriculture  is  taught  today  in  something  like  10,000  elementary  schools  and 
800  high  schools  in  Ohio.  This  teaching  is  bringing  the  boys  and  girls  ih  harmony 
with  their  environment.  It  is  leading  them  to  see  and  appreciate  the  beauties^ 
of  their  surroundings.  The  child  who  grows  up  surrounded  by  that  which  is 
beautiful  is  going  to  develop  a  beautiful  character.  There  is  nothing  but  what 
is  good  in  most  plants  and  animals  and  the  child  who  grows  up  in  the  midst  of 
these  is  bound  to  imbibe  some  of  this  quality. 

H  people  from  the  city  would  spend  their  vacation  in  the  country,  it  would 
be  far  better  and  enjoyable  for  their  children  than  to  go  to  the  seashore  resorts 
where  everything  is  artificial  and  high  except  the  low  moan  of  the  sea. 

The  old  forms  of  brutal  punishment  which  were  used  when  I  was  a  boy 
no  longer  find  a  place  in  our  school  rooms.  Such  subjects  as  agriculture  create 
an  interest  in  our  boys  and  girls,  and  it  is  interest  which  induces  good  school 
work.  There  is  a  feeling  of  friendship  between  teacher  and  pupils,  and  boys 
and  girls  behave  without  the  rod  because  they  wish  to  do  what  is  right.  As 
far  as  the  schools  are  concerned  we  are  in  the  glowing  dawn  of  a  bright  era. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD  OF   AGRICULTURE.  39 

Bring  up  the   few  schools   that   need  bringing  up   and   we  will   all  be   ready  to 
shout  "Hurrah  for  the  schools  of  Ohio." 

It  don't  pay  to  growl  and  grumble  and  have  a  grouch  all  over.  The  grouch 
only  makes  himself  and  those  about  him  miserable.  Be  up  and  do  things.  We 
have  a  little  realm  all  in  itself.  We  may  not  have  any  mines  that  produce  gold 
bricks,  gold  bricks  in  more  senses  than  one  but  we  have  deposits  of  iron  ore  and 
coal  the  backbone  of  civilization.  We  have  a  soil  which  is  rich  in  its  possibili- 
ties, and  above  all  we  have  a  sturdy  citizenship  which  is  bound  to  make  Ohio 
the  finest  place  on  earth  in  which  to  live. 


AN  AGRICULTURAL  SURVEY  OF  OHIO. 

By  L.  H.  Goddard, 
Department  of  Cooperation,  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 

A  Wheat  Experiment  and  Its  Lesson. 

Mr.  Chairman^  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

If  permissible  I  would  like  first  to  relate  «  little  personal  experience  which 
happened  to  me  down  on  the  farm  in  Fayette  County  a  few  years  before  I  took  up 
my  present  work.  A  friend  of  mine,  wishing  to  improve  his  wheat  crop,  finally 
decided  at  my  suggestion  to  purchase  a  few  bushels  of  wheat  as  seed  from  the 
Experiment  Station.  The  selection  -of  the  variety  being  left  to  me,  I  chose  that 
which  had  been  rated  by  the  Station  at  the  end  of  a  long  series  of  experiments  as 
unqualifiedly  the  best,  and  did  so  with  perfect  assurance  as  to  the  ultimate  results 
of  the  use  of  this  variety  on  my  friend's  farm.  To  my  mind  nothing  but  a 
splendid  outcome  could  follow  the  use  of  such  seed  by  my  friend  or  anyone  else 
in 'Ohio,  for  that  matter.  How  could  seed  with  such  a  stamp  of  approval  fail  in 
any  way? 

You  will  therefore  judge  of  my  pique  when  I  tell  you  that  the  first  year  this 
wheat  produced  only  moderately  well;  in  fact,  not  so  well  as  some  of  the  other 
varieties  in  that  neighborhood  and  indeed  no  better  than  the  other  variety  in  use 
on  the  farm  on  which  it  was  seeded.  In  defense  of  the  variety  and  of  the  Experi- 
r-ent  Station,  however,  I  tried  to  explain  and  succeeded  in  producing  conviction 
that  the  comparative  failure  was  due  probably  to  deficiency  in  preparation  of  the 
seed-bed  and  perhaps  to  a  certain  extent  to  lack  of  climatic  adjustment,  and  that 
another  year  with  more  care  used  in  seeding  would  tell  a  different  story. 

I  was  correct  in  assuming  that  another  year  would  tell  a  different  story. 
No  man  who  saw  the  wheat  at  threshing  time  the  second  fall  would  question 
that.  The  seed  produced  the  previous  year  had  been  used  on  a  selected  field 
carefully  prepared  and  owing  to  the  different  and  rather  beautiful  appear- 
ance of  the  crop  as  it  grew  and  the  fact  that  it  was  situated  close  to  the  road 
where  it  was  observed  by  many  in  passing,  the  threshing  results  were  await- 
ed with  great  expectancy.  My  friends,  the  story  which  the  threshing  ma- 
chine told  the  watching  crowd  on  threshing  day  was,  that  the  field  which  had 
been  given  such  care  and  seeded  with  this  new  special  variety  of  wheat,  had 
produced  about  two-thirds  of  a  crop  and  that  crop  quite  largely  screenings  or 
chicken  feed. 

Such  an  experience  as  this  is  bound  to  make  a  very  lasting  impression  on 
one's  mind.  We  can  read  with  a  certain  amount  of  calmness  of  unfortunate  expe- 
riences which  are  sustained  by  others,  but  when  such  come  home  to  us  personally 
and  in  the  public  manner  in  which  this  did  to  me,  the  effect  is   apt  to  be  very 


40 


ADDRESSES 


different.  We  are  apt  to  keep  the  matter  pretty  clearly  in  mind  and  if  we  are 
disposed  to  philosophize,  to  do  a  lot  of  thinking  as  to  the  reason  why  such  a 
thing  could  possibly  happen. 

Experience  Begets  Caution. 

Some  of  you  who  have  noted  the  character  of  the  work  of  the  Extension 
Department  of  the  Experiment  Station,  with  which  I  have  been  connected  since 


Fig.  1. 


•commencing  work  there  in  1904,  will  now  understand  why  every  feature  which  has 
(been  taken  up  by  that  Department  has  been  encompassed  by  a  great  big  question 
^mark;  why  we  have  always  introduced  everything  by  means  of  cooperative  expe- 
riments; why  we  have  always  insisted  that  negative  results  in  connection  with 
these  experiments  were  just  as  valuable  to  us  as  positive  results,  and. why  on 
almost  every  occasion  we  have  been  so  extremely  non-committal. 


ANNUAL    MEETING   OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


41 


I  took  up  the  Experiment  Station  work  in  1904  with  the  feeling  that 
perhaps  my  experience  had  been  unique,  and  with  the  hope  that  with  the 
opportunity  to  observe  through  cooperative  experiments  and  field  investi- 
gations I  would  somehow  be  able  to  clear  up  the  matter,  for  at  no  time  then 
or  since  has  there  ever  been  the  slightest  question  in  my  mind  as  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  work  of  the  Experiment  Station. 


Map  qfOh/o 

"^roc/uction  o^fri.shfhfafoes 
hcf  Townshiios  in 
•^/^03'^— 

Oh/0  'State Boaro/ojf^.^ricufture 
<Sca/e     '  =  sooo  hu 


Fig.  2. 


Experiments  in  Cooperation  with   Farmers. 

While  as  just  stated,  we  always  announced  that  negative  results  in  con- 
nection with  cooperative  experiments  were  just  as  valuable  to  us  as  positive 
results,  as  indeed  they  were,  I  must  say,  however,  that  the  large  number  of 
negative  results  secured  was  indeed  much  of  a  surprise  and  soon  became  a 
little  wearing  on  the  nerves.  In  nearly  every  case  we  received  a  few  reports 
of  remarkably  positive  results  from  our  experiments,  showing  that  they  had 


42 


ADDRESSES- 


been  of  much  value  to  the  farmers  conducting  them,  but  from  perhaps  the 
majority  of  them  came  fiothing  but  tales  of  woe.  How  could  such  a  condi- 
tion exist? 

At  first  we  were  disposed  to  blame  the  trouble  on  the  method  of  conducting 
the  experiment  and  accordingly  tried  a  number  of  methods,  as  some  of  you  may 
know.  We  had  small  hand  experiments  worked  out  with  the  greatest  of  care. 
We  had  small  experiments  in  connection  with  which  machines  were  used.     We 


Fig.  3. 

had  large  experiments  made  under  field  conditions.  In  fact,  we  tried  almost  every 
plan  we  could  devise,  not  only  one  year  but  for  several  years  and  yet  the  results 
were  unsatisfactory.  Varieties  or  methods  of  the  excellence  of  which  we  had  not 
a  doubt  would  fail  comparatively  in  a  large  number  of  cases  no  matter  how  we 
would  conduct  the  test.  We  could  not  blame  the  result  on  the  carelessness  of  co- 
operators,  because  we  knew  from  visits  at  some  of  their  farms  that  such  was  not 
the  case  or  rather  was  not  the  case  in  enough  instances  to  explain  all  our  trouble. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


4^ 


EXPERIMENTS    ON    A    SuB-StATION. 

In  the  meantime,  referring  again  to  our  personal  experience  with  the 
variety  of  wheat,  we  had  occasion  to  visit  one  of  the  Station  test  farms  in 
southwestern  Ohio  where  the  soil  and  climatic  conditions  were  much  the 
same  as  those  on  the  farm  on  which  the  variety  had  been  tried  at  my  sug- 
gestion and  there  we  found  identically  the  samft  results  with  that  particular 


MapofOh/o 

a/(/cf/'<y7  0fMa/o/e  Syru/o 
Jbu  7oty/7<s/?//0'S  /n 
.zL^/&03'^ 

Compt/eo/jfrom  Records 
0/7/0  ySfafe3oo/ro/of^r/cu/fure 

Scof/e    •  =  woo^o//. 


Fig.  4. 


variety  as  in  our  own  experience,  thus  indicating  that  our  own  farm  exper- 
ience was  normal  rather  than  unique  and  that  perhaps  the  type  of  soil  and 
climate  or  something  else  were  after  all  very  important  factors  in  the  growth 
of  a  crop. 

A  State-wide  Field  Study  Becomes  Necessary. 

Finally,  with  the  hope  of  solving  this  irritating  riddle,  we  were  fairly  driven 
in  IQ-IO  to  make  an  elaborate  state-wide  field  study  of  the  farm  practice  in  con- 


44 


ADDRESSES 


nection  with  one  of  Ohio's  most  sensitive  crops,  —  alfalfa.  In  this  study  our 
Mr.  W.  M.  Cook,  who  was  making  it,  visited  specially  in  connection  with  this 
investigation  2'93  farms  which  were  located  in  49  counties  of  the  state  and  which 
represented  fairly  well  all  parts  of  it.  He  also  visited  a  number  of  other  farms 
incidentally    in    connection    with    other    investigations. 

The  lessons   learned   from  this   field  study  which   was   reported   in   Circular 


Fig.  5. 


113  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station  certainly  confirmed  the  wisdom  of  the 
long-standing  policy  of  the  Station  to  extend  its  field  plot  work  to  areas  wide- 
ly distributed  over  the  state;  indeed,  pronounces  the  need  of  each  county 
having  its  own  experiment  farm,  for  which  a  number  have  already  made  ar- 
rangements and  so  many  more  are  now  making  plans.  They  also  pronounc- 
-ed  another  very  important  fact;  that  something  must  be  done  to  enable  every 
iarmer  in  the  State  to  know  to  which  of  these  experiment  farms  he  should 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


4S 


turn  for  information.  In  other  words,  we  became  convinced  that,  on  the 
basis  of  experiments  made  on  any  given  farm  we  positively  can  not  predict 
with  certainty  as  to  what  will  happen  on  another  farm  regarding  many  things^ 
especially  those  related  to  plant  growth,  unless  we  know  that  the  soil,  cli- 
mate and  other  conditions  limiting  or  promoting  plant  growth,  are  similar 
on  the  two  farms. 


Mop  of  Ohio 
Proo/uction  of  Oats 

bu  7b\/vnship^  in 
Compiled  from  Records 

Ohio  State  Board  of /hfnculture 
Sca/e    '  =  sooo  fou 


Fig.  6. 


An  Agricultural  Survey. 

Doubtless  with  this  conviction  in  mind  Director  Thorne  decided  that  a 
beginning  should  be  made  at  once  toward  the  execution  of  his  long-cherish- 
ed plan-rthe  making  of  an  agricultural  survey  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and,  since 
the  Department  of  Cooperation  had  men  who  were  trained  in  field  work 
and  who  were  interested  in  this  very  problem,  that  that  Department  should 
be  placed  in  charge  of  the  work.    This  decision  was  made  in  the  spring  oS 


'^^ 


ADDRESSES 


1911,  but  the  past  season  has  been  one  of  reorganization.  It  has  been  nec- 
essary to  work  .out  plans  for  immediate  action  that  were  suited  to  funds  and 
forces  available  and  that  would  fit  in,  if  possible,  with  enlarged  plans  which 
might  be  developed  to  use  more  funds  in  the  future. 

It  was  also  necessary  to  avoid  casting  aside  for  destruction  the  unfinished 
work  which  we  had  been   conducting  up   to  that  time.     Accordingly,   it  became 


Ma/oof  Ohi 


Comp/kcJjrc 
Oh/o^tateBc 


Fig.  7. 


necessary  to  turn  over  for  continuance  by  other  Departments  of  the  Experiment 
Station  a  number  of  lines  of  work  in  which  our  Department  was  very  much 
interested ;  such  for  instance  as  the  county  fair  ^exhibit  work  and  Corn  Improve- 
ment Association  work,  both  of  which  are  now  in  charge  of  Mr.  D.  W.  Galehouse 
of  the  Department  of  Administration.  We  feel  sure,  however,  that  the  farmers 
of  Ohio  will  be  better  served  under  the  new  arrangement  than  they  have  been 
in   the   past. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


47 


What  is  an  Agricultural  Survey? 

We  have  already  indicated  some  features  that  should  be  considered  in  such 
a  movement,  yet  there  are  many  other  things  that  should  be  studied ;  in  fact, 
everything  should  eventually  be  taken  up  for  analysis  that  has  any  bearing  on 
agricultural  production  or  on  rural  life.  Dean  Liberty  H.  Bailey  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, has  probably  given  us  the  best  definition  of  such  a  survey.     On  page  81 


Ijj  Map  of  Ohio 
Proo/uct/on  ofTbhacoo 

hu  Townships  in 

'JSOQ-^ — 

Compl/eo/from  Recoro/s 
Oh/0  StateBoaro/qfJf^rioulture 

Sca/e    '  =  so  000  /be. 


Fig.  8. 


of  "The  State  and  the  Farmer,"  he  writes  "A  thorough-going  study  of  the  exact 
agricultural  status  of  every  state  should  now  be  made.  ***** 
We  must  have  the  geographical  facts.  We  are  now  lacking  them.  We 
talk  largely  at  random.  We  must  discover  the  factors  that  determine  the  pro- 
duction of  crops  and  animals  in  the  localities,  and  the  conditions  that  underlie 
and  control  the  farm  life.  Consideration  of  these  conditions  involves  study 
of  local  climate;  knov^^ledge  of  the  kinds,  classification  and  distribution  of  the 


48 


ADDRESSES 


soils  and  the  relation  of  place  and  altitude  to  production  of  crops  and  live- 
stock; determination  of  the  best  drainage  practices  on  various  soil  types  ;^. 
consideration  of  the  cultural  experience  and  manurial  needs  as  adapted  to 
the  types;  inquiry  into  the  practice  with  all  leading  crops  and  products  of 
the  localities;  study  of  ^he  possibilities  for  farm  water-power;  collation  of 
community  experience.     Such  a  study  of  a  State  should  be  broad  and  general 


Fig.  9. 

Map   showing    appraised   valuation   of    rural   property    In    Ohio.      Each   dot    repre- 
sents one  hundred  thousand  dollars  valuation  in  the  township   in  which   it   is   placed. 


enough  to  consider  the  status  of  all  the  agricultural  industries  in  the  State, 
and  it  should  also  take  full  cognizance  of  educational  and  social  conditions. 
."This  constitutes  the  greatest  need  of  practical  farming  at  the  present 
day.  The  agricultural  institutions  are  working  out  the  principles,  but  they 
may  not  be  able  to  apply  these  principles  to  individual  farms  because  they  da 
not  know  the  exact  local  conditions.    The  farmer  himself  may  not  know  the 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE. 


49 


principles,  nor  even  the  local  facts.  The  result  is  a  lack  of  articulation  be- 
tween the  teaching  and  the  practice.  Farming  is  founded  on  the  facts  of  the 
locality;  no  business  can  hope  for  the  best  success  until  it  has  exact  know- 
ledge of  its  underlying  conditions." 


m 


Less  than  8  8-9  9-10  10-11  Over  11 

Scale  of  Shades — in  inches 

Fig.  10.    Precipitation. 

The  distribution  of  precipitation  during  the  spring  months,  March,  April  and 
May,  is  shown  on  this  chart.  Lines  are  drawn  for  each  Inch  of  rain,  from  8  Inches 
to  11  inches,  and  the  different  areas  shaded  to  correspond  with  the  scale  at  the 
bottom  of  the  chart.  The  least  fall  is  near  the  Lake  and  the  greatest  In  the  central 
counties  and  near  the  Ohio  river. 


This  you  say  is  surely  an  elaborate  program.  To  this  we  must  heartily 
agree,  but  would  add  that  if  the  work  is  not  conceived  in  the  beginning  in  its 
full  breadth  and  scope  the  little  which  we  can  do  while  making  the  start  will  be 
largely  wasted  on  misdirected  effort  and  be  lost  to  the  future.     And  again,  that 

4     AD.  BD.  AGR. 


50 


ADDRESSES 


if  we  did  not  expect  to  have  the  assistance  of  all  the  institutions  in  the  state  or 
out  of  it  whose  work  bears  directly  on  our  agriculture  or  is  related  to  it,  we 
would  hope  to  accomplish  but  little.  We  believe,  however,  that  to  a  work  as 
important  as  this  there  is  no  institution  that  will  not  stand  ready  to  contribute 


^a 


Less  than  9         9-10  10-11  11-12  Over  12 

Scale  of  Shades — in  inches 

Fig.   11.  Rainfall. 

This    chart    illustrates    the    rainfall  for    the    state    during    the    summer    months, 

June,   July    and    August.      The   amounts  range   from    slightly    below   9    inches   to   over 

12  inches.     In  general,  the  southeastern  half  of  the  state  receives  considerably  more 
rain  than  the  northwestern. 

its  full  part.    Certainly,  up  to  the  present  time  we  have  found  none  that  were  not 
ready  and  we  anticipate  that  none  such  will  be  found. 


The  State-wide  Survey   Should  Precede  the  Detailed  Survey. 

Before  outlining  to  you  the  part  of  the  work  which  we  have  already 
organized,  I  would  pause  to  state  that  as  a  general  principle  we  have  deter- 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE. 


51 


mined  that  the  reconnaissance,  preliminary  or  state-wide  survey  should  pre- 
cede the  detailed  survey.  The  reason  for  this  is,  first,  to  enable  us  to  select 
areas  for  the  detailed  surveys  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  be  tjrpical  of 
larger  areas;  and,  second,  to  enable  us  to  know  within  what  boundaries  the 


^ 
^Vt^ 


Less  than  7  7-8  8-9  9-10 

Scale  of  Shades — in  inches 


Over  10 


Fig.    12.     Precipitation. 

The  distribution  of  the  precipitation  during  the  months  of  September,  October 
and  November  in  Ohio  is  quite  different  from  that  for  the  summer,  as  fs  Indicated 
In  this  figure.  The  total  precipitation  Is  less  for  this  autumn  quarter  than  for  any 
other,  and  the  least  rainfall  is  in  south-central  and  southeast  counties.  The  amount 
of  fall  varies  from   somewhat   below  6   inches  to   over   11    Inches. 


conclusions  of  these  detailed  surveys  may  be  applied.  We  very  much  fear 
that  these  state-wide  surveys  will  demonstrate  to  us  that  the  value  of  many 
of  our  previous  field  studies  have  been  seriously  affected  by  unfortunate  se- 


52 


ADDRESSES 


lection  of  the  areas  in  which  they  were  made,  but  even  if  this  does  prove  to 
be  true  we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing,  aftec  the  state-wide  surveys 
have  been  made,  where  the  lessons  which  we  have  learned  from  these  de- 
tailed studies  will  apply. 


9    N 

10^ 

^^4^iP^I 

r-%^^^i< 

} 

>*J 

3» 

mm 

^ffi 

w 

'^^ 

■ 

V/.Z 

Less  than  7  7-8  8-9  9-10 

Scale  of  Shades — in  inches 


Over  10 


Fig.  13.    Rain  and  Melted  Snow. 

The  total  rain  and  melted  snow  during  the  months  of  December,  January  and 
February  is  given  in  Chart  13.  The  amounts  vary  from  below  7  to  over  10  inches. 
The  heaviest  amounts  are  along  the  Ohio  river  and  the  least  near  the  western  end 
of  the  Lake. 


Another  very  important  reason  for  conducting  the  state-wide  survey  first, 
is,  that  if  properly  conducted  such  a  survey  may  be  of  very  great  immediate 
value  to  the  state  and  yet  cost  but  a  moderate  fraction  as  much  as  would  a  detailed 
survey  covering  the  entire  state.     For  instance,  we  are  convinced  that  for  from*. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


53 


twenty  to  forty  thousand  dollars  and  in  from  two  to  four  years'  time  we  shall 
be  able  to  complete  a  general  soil  survey  of  this  state  that  will  answer  the  present 
needs  of  our  farmers  almost  as  well  as  would  a  detailed  survey  of  the  state 
that  would  cost  a  much  larger  sum  and  take  a  correspondingly  longer  time;  and, 


Less  than  20         20-30  30-40  40-50 

Scale  of  Shades — in  inches 


Over  50 


Fig.  14.     Snow  Fall. 

In  this  chart  we  have  shown  the  distribution  of  the  amount  of  unmelted  snow 
that  averages  to  fall  each  year.  Lines  are  drawn  for  each  difference  of  10  inches 
and  then  the  areas  shaded  as  in  the  preceding  charts.  This  shows  that  the  average 
snowfall  is  less  than  20  inches  in  the  extreme  southern  counties,  and  over  6o  inches 
over  a  small  area  in  the  northeast.  This  district  of  greatest  snowfall  corresponds 
with  or  is  just  to  the  north  of  ihe  highest  land  between  the  southern  and  northern 
watersheds.  i        i'lMM 


that  if  it  were  decided  later  to  make  an  accurate  detailed  survey  of  the  state, 
it  could  be  completed  for  much  less  money  and  would  be  much  more  valuable 
in  the  light  of  what  had  preceded  than-  had  it  been  undertaken  first.     In  other 


54 


ADDRESSES 


words,  we  believe  that  it  probably  would  cost  no  more  to  make  both  the  gen- 
eral and  detailed  surveys  of  the  entire  state  than  to  make  the  latter  if  that  had 
been  undertaken  first,  and  that  by  making  the  general  survey  first  the  farmers 
would  receive  great  benefit  at  a  very  much  earlier  date. 


Below  34 


^ 

1 

3^ 

i-36 
Scale 

3( 

of  Sha 

3-38 
des — i 

n  inch 

8-40 
es 

Ov 

er  40 

Fig.  15.    Annum.  Precipitation. 

The  average  annual  precipitation  for  tlie  different  sections  of  Ohio  is  shown 
graphically  on  this  chart  by  means  of  shaded  areas.  Lines  are  drawn  for  each  dif- 
ference of  2  inches  from  34  inches  to  40  inches  and  areas  having  the  same  precipi- 
tation are  given  the  same  shading.  The  greatest  precipitation  is  along  the  Ohio 
river,  and  the  least  near  the  western  end  of  Lake  Erie.  There  Is  quite  a  large  dis- 
trict In  the  western  portion  of  the  state  with  a   rainfall  of  less  than  34  inches. 


So  far  as  possible  we  propose  to  follow  this  principle  in  all  the  work 
which  we  undertake,  although  in  making  the  transition  from  our  old  work  we 
have  already   found  it  necessary  in  some  cases  to  get  the  cart  before  the  horse. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


55 


You  will  realize  that  it  is  necessary  to  suit  immediate  plans  to  the  immediate 
means  available  and  to  mold  them  according  to  circumstances ;  but,  having  the 
goal  clearly  in  mind,  the ,  work  will  all  orient  itself  into  proper  shape  in  due 
season. 

Statistics  Made  Interesting. 

In  the  very  forefront  of  this  work  we  feel  it  to  be  necessary  to  study  the 
•available  statistics  regarding  this  state  which  have  a  bearing  upon  our  agri- 
culture.     We    realize    that    to    some,    statistics    and    their    consideration    suggests 


Fig.  16.    Last  Killing  Spring  Prost. 

The  average  dates  of  the  last  killing  frosts  of  spring  are  indicated  on  this  chart 
by  lines  that  are  drawn  for  each  5  days.  The  latest  killing  frosts  In  the  spring 
occur  in  the  northeastern  counties  at  some  distance  away  from  the  Lake,  and  there 
they  average  slightly  later  than  May  15.  They  average  earlier  than  April  20  along 
the  Lake  and  in  some  southern  districts. 

at  once  a  dry  and  well-nigh  fruitless  task — a  work  which  they  are  ready  to 
give  over  to  the  cranks  and  the  propagandists.  We  find,  however,  that  by 
analyzing  these  figures  township  by  township  and  presenting  them  graphically 
they  immediately   become   interesting   and  valuable. 


Centers   of   Agricultural   Production. 

Our  first  work  of  this  kind,  which  was  begun  in  1909  and  published  the 
following   spring   as   Circular   100,   was   a    study   of   the   centers   of   agricultural 


56 


ADDRESSES 


production  of  the  state,  based  on  the  statistical  returns  of  the  township  assessors 
which  are  turned  over  by  the  County  Auditors  to  the  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture. The  time  has  been  when  I  had  a  feeling  that  figures  secured  in  this  way 
were  of  very  limited  value.  I  believe,  however,  that  if  you  will  look  at  the  maps 
showing  the  production  of  alfalfa,  potatoes,  wool,  maple  syrup,  apples,  oats, 
ensilage  corn  and  tobacco  (Figs.  1  to  8  inclusive),  you  will  not  hesitate  to  agree 


ctlO 


Fig.  17.    First  Killing  Autumn  Frost. 

On  this  chart  lines  are  drawn  to  show  the  average  dates  of  the  first  killing 
frosts  in  the  autumn.  The  earliest  dates  are  in  the  northeastern  and  northwestern 
counties,  while  the  latest  are  along  the  Lake  and  in  the  extreme  southwest.  Both 
of  these  charts  show  the  influence  of  the  waters  of  the  Lake  in  preventing  damage 
from  frost  along  the  immediate  lake  shore.  They  indicate,  however,  that  this  in- 
fluence extends  but  a   very  short  distance   inland. 


with  me  that  these  maps  based  on  the  statistics  just  named  show  at  a  glance 
where  are  the  centers  of  production  of  these  crops,  and  would  thus  guide  one 
of  our  field  men  or  anyone  else  who  was  interested,  very  accurately  to  the 
localities  in  which  these  crops  are  being  produced  in  large  quantities.  You  will 
of  course  understand  that  each  dot  on  these  maps  represents  a  given  number 
of  pounds,  bushels,  tons,  as  the  case  may  be,  that  have  been  produced  of  the 
crops  in  question  in  the  township  on  the  map  of  which  the  dot  has  been  placed. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


57 


"The  more  dots  there  are  in  any  township  the  greater  has  been  the  production  in 
that  township. 

Please  note  from  these  maps  that  crop  boundaries  do  not  follow  county 
boundaries;  that  within  the  same  county  it  is  possible  to  find  townships  that 
produce  a  very  large  amount  of  a  given  crop  and  other  townships  which  pro- 
duce virtually  none  of  that  crop,  and  therefore,  that  by  taking  the  township  as 


Fig.  18.     Number  of  Crop  Growing  Days. 

By  taking  the  number  of  days  between  the  dates  on  Charts  16  and  17,  the  data 
are  obtained  for  this  Figure  18,  or  the  average  number  of  days  in  the  crop  grow- 
ing season.  The  greatest  number  of  days  between  the  average  date  of  the  last 
killing  frost  in  the  spring  and  the  earliest  in  autumn  is  195  at  Sandusky,  194  at 
Cincinnati,  and  193  at  Cleveland.  The  least  number  of  days  is  134  in  Portage  county. 
The  lines  are  drawn  for  each  10  days. 


a  unit,  as  we  have  done,  we  can  outline  the  crop  boundaries  much  more  accurately 
than  if  we  had  used  the  county  as  a  unit. 

Before  passing  from  these  assessors'  statistics,  allow  me  to  state  that  within 
a  few  years  we  hope  to  have  these  returns  much  more  valuable  even  than  they 
are  at  present.  We  believe  that  when  the  people  see  that  these  figures  are  being 
used  thus  in  detail  they  will  unite  with  the  assessors  to  make  them  as  valuable 
as  possible. 


58 


ADDRESSES 


Land  Values  Studied. 

Most  if  not  all  of  my  hearers  are  doubtless  familiar  with  the  fact  that  a 
strenuous  effort  has  been  made  within  the  past  year  to  see  that  the  farm  land 
of  Ohio  is  appraised  at  its  full  value.  While  we  presume  that  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  the  County  Taxation  Boards  and  of  the  State  Tax  Commission,  some 
mistakes   have  been   made,   we  yet  believe   that  the   final   figures    represent   more 


J  WILLIAMS  i    '■"'-TON 

li — J^^U 


Fig.   19.    Annual  Temperature. 

The  average  annual  temperature  lines  are  drawn  on  this  chart  for  each  de- 
gree. The  coolest  sections  of  the  state  are  in  the  northeastern  and  northwestern 
districts,  while  the  warmest  are  in  the  extreme  southern  and  southwestern  counties. 
These  isothermal  lines  are  very  regular  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  state,  bend- 
ing to  the  north  when  they  cross  the  valleys  and  to  the  south  over  the  uplands. 
There  is  a  large  area  in  the  west-central  and  northwestern  counties,  however,  where 
the  average  temperature  varies  less  than  1  ^degree  for  a  distance  of  over  100  miles, 
from  Champaign  to  Ottawa  counties.  The  lowest  annual  mean  temperature  is  47.2" 
In    Portage   county,   and   the   highest,  55.5°   in   Scioto   county. 


closely  than  anything  else  available  the  real  average  valuation  of  the  land  in 
each  township  of  the  state.  That  such  figures  as  these  would  be  of  value  to  us 
in  this  survey  work  certainly  none  of  you  will  question.  The  State  Tax  Com- 
mission has  kindly  favored  us  with  advance  information  regarding  these  appraised 
valuations  for  use  in  our  work.     (See  Fig.  9). 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE    BOARD    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


59 


The  Climate  An  Important  Factor  in  Agricultural  Investigations. 

Dean  Bailey  also  says  "A  study  of  the  local  climate  ought  to  be  a  part 
of  these  preliminary  surveys.  We  are  neglecting  the  climate  factor.  Cli- 
mate is  distinctly  local.  With  the  soil  it  determines  the  farming  conditions. 
The  best  agriculture  is  a  careful  adjustment  to  the  climate  of  the  district.'* 
We  in  Ohio  are  fast  coming  to  believe  that  many  of  the  abnormal  results 
which  have  been  secured  from  our  cooperative  experiments  have  been  due  to 
abnormal   weather   conditions.     "No  t)ne   knows   better   than  the   farmer   the 


Fig.  20. 


striking  effect  of  abnormal  weather — a  wet  year,  a  dry  year  or  some  other  un- 
usual kind  of  a  year.  It  begins  to  look  to  us  as  though  entirely  too  little  at- 
tention has  been  paid  to  weather  conditions  in  the  past  in  arriving  at  con- 
clusion  based   on   the   results   of   field   experiments   or   of   field   observations. 

Certainly,  in  the  making  of  detailed  field  studies  we  should  attempt  to  confine 
ourselves  if  possible  to  areas  in  which  the  weather  has  been  normal;  or  if  this 
is  not  possible,  to  consider  very  carefully  the  extent  of  abnormalit}^  of  the  weather 
and  its  influence  on  the  final  results. 


60 


ADDRESSES 


You  may  realize,  then,  how  much  it  pleased  us  at  the  Experiment  Station 
when  we  learned  that  the  Ohio  Section  Director  of  the  U.  S,  Weather  Bureau, 
Prof.  J,  Warren  Smith,  was  willing,  with  the  approval  of  his  chief.  Prof.  Willis 
M.  Moore,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  to  become  Honorary  Climatologist  of  the 
Ohio  Experiment  Station  in  order  to  work  the  more  closely  in  connection  with 
■our  Agricultural  Survey. 

Prof.  Smith  has  -already  prepared  for  publication  by  our  institution  as 
Bulletin   235    a    graphically   illustrated    manuscript    regarding   the   climate    of    the 


Fig.  21. 


State  and  will  provide  for  us  from  month  to  month  a  similar  report  of  the 
weather  for  comparison  with  the  climate  in  order  that  we  may  be  able  to  select 
the  points  in  the  State  where  the  weather  has  been  reasonably  normal.  You  will 
of  course  understand  climate  is  simply  the  average  of  the  weather  for  a  long 
period  of  years!  Prof.  Smith  is  also  making  a  number  of  studies  of  the  rela- 
tion of  certain  weather  conditions  to  large  or  small  yields  of  crops.  Every  field 
study  which  we  make  hereafter,  so  far  as  the  weather  can  have  any  effect  upon 
it,  will  be  made  in  close  co-operation  with  Prof.  Smith  and  his  office. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


61 


As  quoted  from  Dean  Bailey  earlier  in  this  paper,  we  have  been  guilty  in 
the  past  of  talking  largely  at  random.  Hereafter  we  must  try  to  confine  our 
statements  and  deductions,  so  far  as  possible,  to  facts.  It  seems  very  fortunate^ 
therefore,  that  the  machinery  of  this  great  organization,  the  Weather  Bureau, 
is  ready  to  join  us  in  this  Survey  work.  The  accompanying  maps  Figs.  10  to,  19) 
inclusive,  will  indicate  some  of  the  more  pronounced  climatic  features  of  the 
State,     A  number  of  others  will  be  found  in  the  Bulletin  mentioned. 

The  Shifting  of  Rural  Population. 

You  certainly  will  agree  with  us  that  in  connection  with  an  Agricultural 
Survey  it  is  necessary  to  know  whether  our  rural  population  is  increasing  or 
decreasing    and    where    these    changes    are   taking    place.      Fortunately,    we    have 


Fig.  22. 


exact  figures  from  the  U.  S.  Census  for  the  years  1890,  1900  and  1910.  These 
are  illustrated  in  Circular  116,  two  of  the  maps  of  which  are  reproduced  here- 
with. Figs.  20  and  21.  Each  dot  on  these  maps  represent  one  percent  of  decrease 
within  the  ten-year  period  preceding  the  date  of  the  map.  A  cross  in  the  map 
of  a  township  indicates  that  the  figures  for  that  township  have  for  some  reason 
been  indeterminate  and  therefore  have  been  thrown  out. 

We  would  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  70  per  cent  of  the 
townships  of  the  state  there  were  actually  fewer  rural  people  in  1910  than 
in  1900;  that  in  spite  of  increases  by  birth  to  the  rural  population  there  was 
a  net  loss  in  the  total  number  of  rural  people  of  the  state  within  that  decade 
of  112,707;  that,  averaging  this  total  loss  among  the  1352  rural  townships, 
there  was  an  average  loss  per  township  in  rural  population  in  spite  or  births^ 


62 


ADDRESSES 


of  8.3  persons  per  year.  Of  course,  as  stated  above,  this  loss  was  confined  to 
about  70  percent  of  the  townships,  which  makes  it  all  the  greater  in  the  town- 
ships in  which  it  did  occur.  It  may  be  that  this  decrease  in  rural  population 
is  wise ;  we  are  not  prepared  at  this  time  to  say ;  it  is  merely  our  mission  in 
conducting  this  work,  which  we  are  now  undertaking,  to  gather  the  facts  and 
state  them  so  that  others  as  well  as  ourselves  may  try  to  draw  conclusions. 
Certainly,  however,  we.  should  keep  this  fact  constantly  in  mind  in  connection 
with  all  our  field  investigations. 

These  four  statistical  studies:  centers  of  agricultural  production,  taxation 
valuation,  climatic  conditions  and  population,  are  sufficient  to  indicate  how  we 
shall  endeavor  to  use  all  available  statistics  and  to  prove,  I  hope,  that  even  dry 


Fig.  23. 

statistics  may  become  very  valuable  and  even  interesting  if  one  translates  them  into 
graphical  illustrations. 


A   Study  of  Agricultural  History. 

In  traveling  over  the  state  in  years  past  our  field  men  have  noticed  many 
local  agricultural  conditions  which  we  feel  we  shall  not  be  able  to  trace  entirely 
either  to  the  climate  or  to  the  soil.  For  instance,  why  do  we  find  the  large 
farm  area  in  Fayette,  Madison  and  other  nearby  counties?  Can  it  be  because 
that  area  was  settled  by  Virginians  whose  ancestors  were  the  landless  younger 
sons  of  old  England  and  who  came  to  Virginia  with  a  pronounced  appetite  for 
land?  Why  do  we  find  tobacco  growing  in  but  limited  areas  of  the  State?  May 
not  the  likes  and  dislikes  and  previous  training  of  the  settlers  of  those  areas 
have   something   to  do    with    determining   their    location,    rather   than    or    as    well 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  63 

as  the  soil  and  the  climate?  Had  the  Yankees  of  the  Western  Reserve — Ashta- 
bula, Geauga,  Portage  and  other  counties  settled  in  Fayette  and  Madison  counties, 
would  or  would  not  that  have  been  a  large  farm  area?  Had  they  settled  in 
Montgomery  and  Darke  counties  would  parts  of  those  counties  be  a  pronounced 
center  of  tobacco  production? 

With  the  hope  of  unraveling  these  and  dozens,  yes  hundreds,  of  other 
riddles  and  of  helping  us  to  understand  better  the  agricultural  conditions  of 
the  state,  Mr.  W.  A.  Lloyd  of  our  office  is  now  conducting  a  general  historical 
survey  of  the  state  which  considers  the  different  classes  of  people,  crops,  live- 
stock and  types  of  farming;  the  date  of  introduction  of  each,  the  rate  of  increase 
of  each;  the  date  of  climax  of  each  if  reached;  the  rate  and  cause  of  decline  of 
each  if  such  exists;  and  the  relation  of  each  to  the  other.  To  be  sure,  in  the 
year  or  so  that  he  can  devote  to  this  project  he  cannot  hope  to  work  it  out  in 
all  its  detail,  but  he  can  secure  information  that  will  be  of  vital  importance 
and  that  will  point  the  way  accurately  to  later  detailed  surveys. 

A  General   Soil   Survey. 

The  need  of  a  soil  survey  of  the  State  has  already  been  referred  to 
in  this  paper.  Certainly,  no  one  who  has  traveled  over  the  state  to  any 
great  extent  can  question  the  importance  of  this  need.  If  there  are  any 
who  question  it  I  am  sure  that  a  few  months  association  with  a  department  of 
extension  of  an  agricultural  experiment  station  will  convince  him  of  his  error. 
In  1905,  a  year  after  the  organization  of  our  Department,  the  author  of  this 
paper  wrote  regarding  Extension  Work  in  Circular  47  of  the  Experiment  Station 
as  follows :  "The  varying  climate  and  soil  conditions  prevent  our  formulating 
any  general  conclusions  that  will  apply  to  the  State  at  large,  and  therefore  pre- 
vent the  pubHshing  of  many  reports.  The  best  we  can  do  in  most  cases  is  to 
attempt  to  answer  each  in,dividual  request  with  information  regarding  the  section 
from  which  the  request  has  come.  This  part  of  our  work  will  be  very  much 
lightened  and  its  value  increased  many  fold  as  soon  as  the  state  is  provided  with 
a  coniplete  soil  classification  and  preliminary  soil  survey.  Accurate  conclusions 
may  then  be  drawn  for  a  given  soil  which  will  be  understood  by  all  well  in- 
formed farmers  in  that  soil  area."  This  was  written  more  than  six  years  ago 
and  has  been  reiterated  hundreds  of  times  by  the  various  members  of  our  field 
staff  who  have,  in  connection  with  their  field  work,  come  face  to  face  with  the 
absolute  necessity  of  assistance  along  these  lines. 

Perhaps  it  is  well,  however,  that  we  have  waited.  I  seriously  question  if 
six  years  ago  the  man  was  in  existence  who  could  have  handled  this  work  as 
we  now  feel  it  should  be  handled.  At  any  rate,  the  man  we  have  in  charge  of 
it  in  our  Department,  Dr.  George  N.  Coffey,  has  been  receiving  constant  training 
throughout  the  entire  period,  so  that  now  our  sister  institutions  in  other  S'tates 
and  the  National  Bureau  of  Soils,  from  which  he  came  to  us,  say  unqualifiedly 
that  he  is  the  best  soil  survey  man  in  the  country.  He  assisted  in  1900  in  making 
the  first  detailed  county  survey  that  was  ever  made  by  the  National  Bureau  of 
Soils  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  since  that  time  has  worked  in  every  state  in  the 
Union  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  except  two. 

Beginning  last  July,  he  has  been  conducting  a  soil  reconnaissance,  in 
which  he  visited  every  county  in  the  state  but  five,  and  by  means  of  which 
and  his  former  studies  he  hopes  to  determine  quite  largely  what  types  of 
soil  are  to  be  found  in  the  state.  Beginning  next  spring  with  the  two  as- 
sistants which  we  shall  be  able  to  provide  he  will  undertake  a  general  soil 
survey  of  the  state,*  In  this  he  will  study  the  types  and  sub-types  more  care- 
fully and  undertake  to  locate  them  in  a  general  way.     While  he  will  hope  to 

fill      :^  ^ht.:^  -iL.tX.'.  t'..,  MrAiltt.tSr  :  ■-    .'•'K  ■     •  •  .     ..-    .       —>•.,.  .,         .  .        i'.-uV-:-    . 


64  ADDRESSES 

be  able  to  make  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  percentage  of  each  type  or  sub- 
type which  may  be  found  in  any  given  township,  he  will  not  undertake  to 
determine  in  detail  regarding  the  soil  of  individual  farms.  He  will,  however, 
undertake  to  define  these  soil  types  in  such  a  way  that  every  man  of  agricul- 
tural intelligence  will  be  able  to  recognize  and  name  any  type  on  his  or  any 
other  farm  in  the  state.  Dr.  Coffey,  who  is  to  address  you  tomorrow,  will 
tell  you  more  in  regard  to  this  soil  survey  work. 

*  Since  the  above  statement  was  made  a  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  D.  A. 
Bureau  of  _  Soils  has  been  arranged  whereby  the  survey  will  be  completed  within 
the  year  1912. 

The  State  Topographical  Survey. 

This  completes  the  preparatory  or  foundation  surveys  which  we  have  already 
launched  in  the  Department  of  Co-operation.  We  shall,  however,  be  greatly 
assisted  by  the  work  of  other  institutions.  Probably  the  most  important  of 
these  is  the  State  Topographic  Survey.  I  wonder  if  many  of  our  people  know 
that  the  State  of  Ohio,  in  co-operation  with  the  national  government,  is  carrying 
forward  at  a  greater  pace  than  any  other  state  in  the  Union,  a  most  remark- 
able survey  of  the  state,  on  the  basis  of  which  they  prepare  maps  which  may  be 
purchased  at  5  ceats  per  area,  about  the  size  of  a  county,  on  which  are  shown 
accurately  among  other  things  the  location  of  the  streams,  roads,  lanes,  farm: 
buildings,  churches,  schoolhouses  and,  by  contour  lines,  the  approximate  eleva- 
tion of  every  point  in  the  area.  If  you  will  all  procure  a  map  of  the  area  in 
which  you  live  or  of  those  in  which  you  are  interested,  we  are  sure  that  you  will 
join  us  in  urging  that  the  state  continue  its  appropriation  of  .$25,000  per  year, 
or  increase  it  for  that  matter,  so  that  the  surveys  may  be  entirely  completed  not 
later  than  1916.  We  certainly  wish  that  they  were  all  done  now.  We  need  'them 
badly  in  our  work.  Mr.  C.  E.  Sherman,  who  is  Professor  of  the  college  of 
Civil  Enginnering  of  the  Ohio  State  University,  is,  by  appointment  of  the  gov- 
ernor, the  State  Inspector  in  charge  of  this  work.  The  water  power  survey  of 
the  state  which  we  understand  Mr.  Sherman  is  arranging  to  make,  will  be  of 
much  value  to  farmers  if  they  awake  to  the  situation  in  time  to  see  that  this 
power  is  conserved  to  their  use.  The  road  survey  which  has  been  made  by  the 
State    Highway   Commission   we  have   also    found   of    special   value   in    our    field 

A  Country  Life  Survey  Needed. 

Another  class  of  surveys  which  we  hope  to  see  taken  up  very  shortly  are 
those  which  bear  on  the  life  which  is  lived  by  country  people.  It  has  been  said, 
and  we  believe  wisely,  that  the  most  valuable  farm  product  is  boys  and  girls 
who  will  grow  into  thoughtful,  steadfast  citizens.  We  may  make  the  farms  of 
Ohio  profitable,  a  good  place  to  live  from  a  financial  standpoint,  but  if  we  do 
not  make  the  farm  homes  good  homes  and  the  rural  communities  good  com- 
munities in  which  to  raise  boys  and  girls  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  our  work 
may  well  be  called  a  failure.  The  Rural  Life  Survey  should  go  hand  in  hand 
with  the  Farm  Practice,  Farm  Management  and  Rural  Economic  Survey.  Some 
of  the  work  which  we  have  already  taken  up  will  have  a  bearing  on  these  rural 
life  surveys,  but  we  certainly  hope  that  other  institutions  will  throw  the  vast 
resources  of  their  organizations  into  the  leadership  of  work  of  this  character 
in  order  that  what  little  we  do  of  it  may,  under  their  guidance,  be  well  directed. 

The  Rural  Church  Problem. 

Recognizing  as  we  do  the  very  great  possibilities,  perhaps  largely  unde- 
veloped, of  the  country  church  as  an  instrument  to  solve  this  rural  problem, 
especially  in  evolving  rural  communities  and  developing  rural  leadership,  we  feef 


ANNUAL   MEETING  OHIO  STATE  BOARD  OF  AGRICULTURE.  6b 

quite  fortunate  in  having  been  able  last  September,  to  make  tentative  arrange- 
ments with  a  man  of  national  reputation  to  conduct  a  church  and  rural  life 
survey  of  the  state  this  coming  summer.  If  it  is  agreeable  to  all  the  church  and 
other  interested  organizations,  and  a  conference  to  determine  this  has  been 
called  for  next  Saturday,  Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson,  whom  many  of  you  heard  at 
the  Rural  Life  meetings  at  the  National  Corn  Show  last  winter  will  undertake, 
with  the  support  of  his  organization  and  any  others  that  may  be  available,  to 
put  in  the  field  next  summer  a  large  force  of  men  to  determine  with  exactness 
the  conditions  which  exist  in  rural  Ohio. 

The  records  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  show  that  in  more  than  a 
fifth  of  the  townships  of  the  state  there  are  unused  churches  and  that  in  a  much 
larger  number  of  townships  the  church  attendance  is  not  so  good  as  it  was 
10  or  15  years  ago.  (See  Figs.  22  and  23.)  This  being  true,  it  seems  very  de- 
sirable that  we  secure  the  assistance  of  a  religious  organization  led  by  a  finely 
trained  minister  of  administrative  ability  such  as  Dr.  Wilson,  and  supported  by 
all  the  church  and  agricultural  organizations  of  the  state,  to  try  to  learn  why 
it  is  true  and  then  to  determine  the  means  of  turning  the  tide  in  the  proper 
direction.  Let  us  hope  that  nothing  will  happen  to  prevent  this  church  and  rural 
life  survey  being  started  the  coming  summer  and  that  it  will  be  but  the  begin- 
ning of  extensive  surveys  of  this  character  to  be  made  within  our  boundaries. 

Profitable  Farming  Fundamental. 

But  to  turn  again  for  a  moment  to  the  financial  problem  of  the  farm,  for 
we  must  all  agree  that  much  as  a  fine  rural  community  is  desired,  there  is  no 
possibility  of  developing  such  unless  we  have  a  stable  financial  condition  on  which 
to  found  it.  Is  it  going  to  be  necessary  to  await  the  completion  of  all  these 
surveys  before  we  can  begin  to  be  of  financial  assistance  to  the  farmers?  Is 
there  not  something  we  can  do  in  the  meantime?  We  have  no  sympathy  what- 
ever with  the  pleas  of  those  who  would  ask  that  the  country  boy  and  girl  shall 
stay  on  the  farm  exclusively  for  the  sake  of  the  farm,  the  rural  community, 
the  state  and  the  nation.  While  we  would  like  to  see  every  bright,  honest  boy 
who  has  been  reared  on  the  farm  have  developed  within  him  such  a  love  for 
the  farm  that  he  would  remain  there,  surely  you  will  all  agree  with  me  that 
such  boys  cannot  be  expected  to  stay  there  unless  they  are  convinced  that  life 
there  will  be  fuller  for  them,  that  it  will  have  greater  possibilities  for  them, 
than  elsewhere;  and  surely  you  will  all  agree  further  that  unless  they  can  see 
possibilities  of  at  least  a  reasonable  financial  competence  there,  they  will  never  as 
a  rule  develop  that  feeling  of  love  for  the  farm  and  the  rural  community  which 
is  necessary  to  keep  them  there;  that  indeed  they  should  not  even  be  expected 
to  do  so.  What  then,  I  say,  can  we  do  before  the  completion  of  these  surveys 
to  help   solve   the   financial  difficulties   of   the   farm? 

The  Present  Status  of  the  Work. 

In  the  first  place,  these  surveys  are  further  advanced  than  may  be  realized. 
The  statistical  surveys,  as  you  will  remember,  are  many  of  them  ready  for  use 
right  now.  Indeed,  some  of  them  were  used  as  long  ago  as  1910  in  connection 
with  the  state-wide  study  of  alfalfa.  Before  spring  Dr.  Coffey  will  have  avail- 
able a  report  of  his  soil  reconnaissance  on  the  basis  of  which,  and  with  the 
advantage  of  special  field  instruction  by  him,  field  investigators  may  expect  to 
work  quite  accurately  on  problems  in  connection  with  which  the  soil  is  to  be  con- 
sidered. 

For  example,  there  is  no  reason  whatever  why  a  man  should  not  start  at 
once  on  the  basis  of  farmers'  experience  throughout  the  state,  to  determine  the 
5    ad,  bd.  agr. 


66  ADDRESSES 

relation  of  tile  drainage  to  the  different  soil  types  and  crop  production  thereon. 
On  some  soil  types  drainage  may  not  pay  at  all,  while  on  others  it  does  pay 
remarkably;  some  may  require  the  tile  much  closer  together,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  permit  them  much  farther  apart  than  on  the  average.  Having  secured 
this  information  an  investigator  could  tell  with  a  reasonable  certainty  whether 
or  not  and  how,  it  would  be  profitable  to  tile-drain  any  given  farm. 

Again,  on  the  basis  of  this  soil  information  and  that  derived  from  the  climatic 
and  weather  survey  which  is  now  available  it  would  be  entirely  possible  for  a 
field  investigator  to  determine  to  a  reasonable  certainty  regarding  the  sections 
in  which  potatoes  may  be  grown  to  the  best  advantage  and  to  give  very  accurate 
advice  regarding  this  and  the  different  methods  of  handling  the  crop  under  the 
different  soil  and  climatic  conditions  that  obtain  in  the  state.  These  and  dozens 
of  other  farm  practice  and  farm  management  studies  for  which  we  already  have 
plans,  some  of  which  will  be  mentioned  to  you  by  Dr.  Coffey  in  his  address 
regarding  soils  tomorrow,  will  be  taken  up  just  as  fast  as  funds  and  men  are 
available.      ^^ 

In  this  connection  I  would  say  it  is  our  hope  that  the  other  Departments 
of  the  Experiment  Station  will  furnish  men  to  take  up  agricultural  survey 
work  in  connection  with  problems  related  to  their  regular  departmental 
work.  Indeed,  we  are  thoroughly  convinced  that  many  of  them,  as  also  sim- 
ilar Departments  of  all  Experiment  Stations,  will  eventually  see  the  absolute 
necessity  of  doing  just  such  work  as  this  before  daring  to  try  to  interpret  the 
results  of  their  experiments  to  the  mass  of  the  people  of  the  state. 
But,  in  the  event  they  fail  to  do  so,  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  go  ahead  just  as 
fast  as  possible.-  Within  the  past  week  Director  Thorne  has  asked  us  to  con- 
duct such  an  investigation  regarding  the  use  of  manure,  commercial  fertiHzers 
and  lime,  and  we  shall  undertake  to  do  so.  We  have  already  started  a  corn 
investigation  of  this  character.  We  feel  that  there  is  no  reason  why  the  mass 
of  co-operalive  and  private  experiments  which  have  been  made  all  over  the 
state,  under  a  hundred  different  conditions,  may  not  now  be  studied  in  the  light 
of  the  information  which  will  be  available  this  coming  year  regarding  Ohio's 
soil,  climate  and  the  history  of  her  agriculture,  and  conclusions  be  deduced 
therefrom  which  will  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  general  farming  public. 


A  GENERAL  SOIL  SURVEY  OF  OHIO. 

By  George  N.   Coffey^ 
Department   of  Co-operation,   Ohio  Experiment  Station. 

Mr.  President,  Gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  Gentlemen: 

It  is  indeed  a  pleasure  to  have  the  honor  of  addressing  the  members  of 
the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  —  an  organization  which,  under  the  leadership 
of  its  pushing,  hard-working  and  efficient  Secretary,  is  doing  so  much  to  advance 
the  cause  of  agriculture  in  this  good  State  of  ours. 

*'A  Boost  for  Ohio.'" 

On  the  front  of  the  program  our  Secretary  suggested  that  this  meeting  be 
made  "a  boost  for  Ohio."  We  believe  in  boosting  Ohio.  All  of  us  ought  to  do 
more  of  it.  But  at  the  same  time  we  should  not  forget  to  work,  else  our 
boosting  may  simply  become  boasting.  We  wish  to  present  to  you  a  new  line 
of  work  which  we  are  undertaking,  one  which  is  essential  to  the  proper  conduct 


ANNUAL   MEETING   OHIO   STATE  BOARD   OF  AGRICULTURE.  67 

of  many  lines  of  agricultural  investigation.  And  we  believe  that  such  work 
can  be  legitimately  classed  as  "a  boost  for  Ohio."  We  hope  that  we  may  at 
least  be  considered  as  among  the  men  behind  the  guns  when  the  shots  are  fired. 
In  coming  here  to  work  with  you  for  the  upbuilding  of  agriculture  I  do 
not  come  as  an  entire  stranger,  for  almost  the  first  soil  work  which  I  ever  did, 
aside  from  that  on  the  farm,  was  to  assist  in  the  making  of  a  soil  survey  of 
Montgomery  County,  Ohio.  Later,  when  as  a  member  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  I  was  given  charge  of  its  classi- 
fication and  correlation  work  in  the  entire  country,  I  had  occasion  to  make 
several  visits  to  this  state.  Since  taking  up  my  work  with  the  Experiment 
Station  last  July  I  have  been  able  to  see  something  of  every  county  in  the  State 
except  five,  and  it  is  our  purpose  to  continue  the  work  until  we  have  taken  a 
complete  inventory  of  our  soil  resources.  What  we  have  already  seen  is  suffi- 
cient to  convince  any  one  of  the  immense  resources  and  agricultural  possibilities 
of  this  state. 

Great  Resources  Alone  do  not  Make  a  State  Great. 

But  did  you  ever  consider,  gentlemen,  that  the  possession  of  great  natural 
resources  in  itself  has  never  yet  made  a  state  rich  and  powerful?  Were  not  all 
of  these  advantages,  which  we  now  enjoy,  here  for  thousands  of  years  before 
Columbus  braved  the  winds  and  waves  of  the  Atlantic  to  get  a  sight  of  a  new 
and  better  land?  Prosperity  and  power  come  only  when  a  people  make  use  of 
the  advantages  and  resources  which  a  beneficent  Providence  has  placed  before 
them  or  underneath  them.  Their  proper  development,  however,  requires  a  great 
deal  of  perseverance,  of  energy  and  of  downright  hard  work.  Yet,  it  requires 
all  of  these  and  more.  The  energy  must  be  expended  along  the  proper  channels 
or  no  good  may  be  accomplished. 

I  was  standing  at  the  depot  the  other  day  waiting  for  a  train  and  was  very 
much  interested  in  watching  a  freight  engine  which  was  on  the  other  track.  It 
was  standing  still,  but  from  it  was  rushing  with  a  great  deal  of  noise  a  large  vol- 
ume of  steam.  A  little  later  I  saw  the  engineer  take  hold  of  the  throttle,  give  it 
two  or  three  light  pulls,  the  wheels  began  to  revolve,  the  engine  moved  down  the 
track,  carrying  with  it  a  long  line  of  heavily  laden  cars.  Apparently  no  more 
energy  was  being  expended  than  before.  Why  the  difference?  Because  the 
trained  hand  of  the  engineer  had  directed  the  energy  into  the  channels  where 
it  would  produce  work  instead  of  going  to  waste. 

Object  of  ^  Agricultural  Organizations. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  the  commercial  world  was  startled  by  the  announce- 
ment that  one  of  our  great  corporations  was  to  pay  its  manager  a  salary  of  a 
million  dollars  a  year.  In  agriculture,  as  well  as  other  lines  of  business,  the 
value  of  trained  direction  is  being  appreciated  more  and  more  every  year.  The 
recognition  of  this  principle  led  to  the  organization  of  a  national  Department 
of  Agriculture,  of  State  Departments  of  Agriculture,  of  State  Agricultural  Col- 
leges and  Experiment  Stations  and  various  other  institutions,  the  object  of  which 
is  to  find  out  and  advise  the  farmer  as  to  the  lines  along  which  his  energy  can 
be  most  profitably  expended;  to  help  him  determine,  among  other  things,  how 
best  to  use  and  not  abuse  our  most  valuable  resource, —  the  soil. 

A  Knowledge  of  the  Soil   Necessary. 

Since  all  soils  are  not  alike,  are  not  adapted  to  the  same  kind  or  va- 
riety of  crop,  do  not  require  the  same  kind  of  fertilization  or  cultural  treat- 
ment, as  will  be  brought  out  more  clearly  later,  these  organizations  have  been 


68  ADDRESSES 

greatly  hampered  in  their  work  by  a  lack  of  definite  knowledge  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil  in  the  different  sections  with  which  they  have  to  do.  With- 
out such  knowledge  definite  advice  is  often  impossible  or,  if  given,  may  not 
apply.  In  order,  therefore,  to  furnish  this  information  there  has  been  organ- 
ized what  is  known  as  the  soil  survey,  the  primary  object  of  which  is  to  se- 
cure a  knowledge  of  the  character  and  properties  of  the  soil  in  any  given  area. 
Such  a  survey  is  novv  being  conducted  by  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station  as  a 
part  of  the  great  Agricultural  Survey  which  it  is  making  of  this   State. 

A   Soil  Reconnaissance. 

During  the  summer  we  have  made  a  soil  reconnaissance  of  a  large  part 
of  the  State  and  have  secured  much  information  in  regard  to  the  character  of 
the  soil  in  different  sections.  This  work,  however,  is  preliminary  to  the  making 
of  a  general  soil  survey,  including  a  map  which  will  show  all  the  larger  areas 
of  the  most  important  soil  types  of  the  State.  In  making  this  survey  we  shall 
not  endeavor  to  show  the  location  of  all  the  numerous  small  areas  of  the 
different  types,  because  experience  has  shown  that  this  is  expensive  both  in  re- 
gard to  time  and  money.  We  hope,  however,  to  be  able  to  describe  the  types 
found  in  each  township  in  the  State  in  such  a  way  that  the  farmer  himself  can 
recognize  them. 

Two  Questions  Asked. 

In  the  conduct  of  soil  survey  work  there  are  two  questions  which  we  are 
asked  over  and  over  again;  first,  "What  are  you  doing?"  and  second,  "What 
are  you  doing  it  for?"  I  might  add  that  there  is  a  third  question  which  often 
precedes  either  of  the  others  and  that  is,  "How  much  do  you  get  for  doing  it?" 
Since  you  gentlemen  are  connected  with  agricultural  work  in  the  state,  I  am 
sure  that  you  realize  that  we  do  not  get  enough  to  make  us  millionaires  and  shall 
therefore  consider  it  not  necessary  to  discuss  further  this  last  question.  We 
are  willing  to  admit,  however,  that  our  salary  is  a  little  more  than  that  of  the 
members  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  The  other  two  questions,  I  do 
want  to  discuss,  and  to  explain  to  you  in  some  detail  the  nature  of  the  work 
which  we  are  carrying  on,  to  state  some  of  the  benefits  which  will  accrue  there- 
from. Let  us  therefore  consider  first  the  question  of  "What  are  you  doing?" 
I  want  you  gentlemen  to  know  so  that  if  you  see  a  man  with  an  auger  boring 
a  hole  in  your  field  you  will  understand  what  he  is  doing  and  not  think  that 
he  is  boring  either  for  gold,  oil,  or  gas,  although  he  may  get  gold  for  boring 
and  may  make  a  lot  of  gas  over  what  he  has  done. 

The  Soil  Survey  Defined. 

.A  soil  survey  consists  in  examining  the  soils  in  the  field,  in  order  to  de- 
termine the  different  kinds  of  types,  in  studying  their  origin,  processes  of 
formationv  and  various  obvious  properties  and  characteristics,  in  the  writing  of 
a  report  describing  these  different  types,  and  in  showing  on  a  map,  by  means 
of  color  or  otherwise,  the  location  of  the  different  soils  so  far  as  this  is 
practicable.  In  brief,  it  is  taking  an  inventory  of  our  soil  resources. 
The  soil  survey  will  give  us  information  in  regard  to  the  different  kinds  or 
types  of  soil,  just  as  the  Geological  Survey  has  furnished  us  with  a  knowledge 
of  the  different  geological  formations.  By  means  of  the  soil  auger  it  is  possible 
to  secure  a  sample  of  both  soil  and  subsoil  down  to  any  desired  depth,  for  the 
purpose  of  studying  its  various  characteristics.  In  usual  practice  it  is  only 
necessary  to  exiamine  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  three  feet  in  order  to  determine 
the  type  to  which  it  belongs,  although  it  is  always  well  to  secure  all  obtainable 
information  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  material  at  greater  depths.     It  is 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  69 

often  possible  to  get  a  very  good  idea  of  the  character  of  the  underlying  material 
~ty  means  of  road  cuts  and  ditches.     If  such  are  not  available  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  make  deeper  borings  by  means  of  extensions  to  the  regular  soil  auger. 

What  is  the  Soil? 

In  undertaking  such  a  survey  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  soil  is  not 
simply  broken-down  rock.  This  degenerated  rock  must  have  been  acted  up- 
on by  life  in  some  form  or  other;  must  contain  some  organic  matter -before  it 
can  be  considered  as  a  true  soil.  It  is  not  mere  dead,  inert  matter.  It  is  full 
of  life  and  various  changes  are  constantly  taking  place.  It  is  an  independent 
natural  body,  a  bio-geological  formation,  differing  essentially  from  the  rocks 
which  underlie  it,  although  closely  related  to  them.  It  is  the  one  great  forma- 
tion in  which  the  organic  and  inorganic  kingdoms  meet  and  derives  its  distinctive 
.  character  from  this  union. 


The  Factors  upon  which   Classification  is   Based. 

Since  the  soil  survey  is  necessarily  conducted  in  the  field,  the  classification, 
which  is  made,  must  be  based  upon  those  factors,  or  obvious  differences,  which 
are  there  detectable,  although  the  field  examination  should  be  followed  up  with 
laboratory  studies  to  determine  other  factors  or  properties  which  cannot  be  de- 
cided upon  in  the  field.  We  will,  therefore,  review  rather  briefly  some  of  the 
factors  or  characteristics  which  we  must  consider  in  making  a  field  classifica- 
tion or  separation  of  the  soil;  or  in  other  words,  in  determining  whether  the  soil 
on  your  farm  is  like  that  on  your  neighbor's  farm.  In  fact,  the  soil  surveyor 
uses  many  of  the  same  evidences  of  differences  in  soils  that  the  farmers  do. 
His  more  careful  training,  however,  enables  *,him  to  detect  differences  more 
quickly  and  interpret  their  meaning  more  accurately. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  these  factors  is  that  of  origin.  In  this 
term  are  included  not  only  the  kind  of  rock  from  which  the  soil  is  derived, 
together  wth  the  agencies  or  processes  which  were  concerned  in  the  forma- 
tion of  this  rock,  but  also  the  various  processes  of  weathering  that  change 
the  underlying  formation  from  mere  rock  into  actual,  cultivatable  soil.  All 
of  you,  especially  those  who  are  from  the  western  half  of  the  State,  know 
that  the  black  soils  are  found  in  low  places  where  swampy  conditions  for- 
merly existed.  The  underlying  material  .is  exactly  the  same  on  the  higher 
areas  where  the  lighter-colored  soils  occur,  the  black  color  being  due  to  an 
accumulation  of  organic  mater  under  poor  drainage  conditions.  Such  dif- 
ference are  often  of  greater  importance  than  those  due  to  variations  in  the 
character  of  the  underlying  rock,  and  this  is  one  of  the  principal  reasons  why 
a  soil  map  and  a  geological  map  are  not  the  same.  Let  me  see  if  I  can  bring 
out  a.  little  more  clearly  just  exactly  what  I  mean. 

When  I  was  a  boy  I  took  part  in  the  debates  which  were  held  in  connec- 
tion with  our  country  school.  I  recall  that  one  of  the  most  heated  discussions 
we  ever  had  was  upon  the  subject  whether  man  is  more  the  product  of  heredity 
or  environment,  and  some  of  us  at  least  thought  that  we  had  the  question  settled 
for  all  time;  but  it  bobs  up  again  every  little  while,  so  we  must  have  been  mis- 
taken. To  apply  this  to  soil,  I  would  say,  that  the  differences  due  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  rock  represent  heredity,  while  those  brought  about  by  the  processes 
of  weathering  correspond  to  environment.  We  can  no  more  determine  the  char- 
acter of  a  soil  from  a  study  of  the  rocks  alone  than  we  can  that  of  a  man  from 
a  study  of  his  ancestors. 


70  ADDRESSES 

Kind    of    Underlying    Rock    an    Important    Consideration. 

We  must  not  fail,  however,  to  consider  the  kind  of  rock  from  which  the 
soil  has  been  formed,  for  this  has  an  important  influence  in  determining  its 
nature.  In  this  state  it  is  especially  important  to  know  whether  the  soil  is 
derived  from  limestone  or  whether  it  is  derived  from  sandstone  and  shale. 
This  is  due  to  the  influence  which  the  rock  has  in  determining  the 
amount  of  lime  which  will  be  found  in  the  soil.  Other  things  being  equal 
a  soil  formed  from  a  limestone  will  always  have  more  lime  than  one  derived 
from  sandstone  and  shale.  A  great  many  people,  however,  rfiake  the  mistake 
of  assuming  that  a  soil  formed  from  limestone  necessarily  has  a  large  amount 
of  lime  in  it,  which  is  not  always  the  case,  especially  in  the  surface  soil. 
This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  lime  is  very  soluble  in  carbonated  rain  water  and 
may  be  practically  all  leached  out;  in  fact,  so  nearly  all  of  it  may  be  removed 
through  leaching  that  we  may  have  an  acid  soil  formed  from  a  limestone. 

In  our  studies  last  summer  in  the  western  half  of  the  state,  where  the  glacial 
drift  is  composed  very  largely  of  ground-up  limestone,  we  found  that  the  sub- 
soil, within  three  feet  of  the  surface,  would  often  effervesce,  when  treated  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  showing  the  presence  of  a  large  amount  of  lime.  Very  seldom, 
however,  would  such  effervescence  take  place  within  18  inches  of  the  surface 
while  the  surface  soil  usually  gave  an  acid  reaction.  In  the  eastern  half  of  the 
State  where  the  soils  are  derived  very  largely  from  sandstone  and  shale  there 
was  very  seldom  any  effervescence  even  in  the  subsoil,  indicating  a  rather  low 
lime  content.  Some  limestone  layers,  however,  occur  throughout  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  State  and  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  these  as 
their  influence  is  shown  by  an  increased  productiveness  in  the  soil.  In  fact,  one 
must  know  the  character  of  the  underlying  rocks  in  order  to  understand  the 
various  peculiarities  of  the  soils. .  In  this  part  of  our  work  the  geological  maps 
will  be  of  much  assistance  to  us. 

How  the  Soil  was  Made. 

It  is  also  important  to  understand  the  processes  of  formation  and  the  differ- 
ences which  may  have  resulted  from  a  variation  in  these  processes.  Mention 
has  already  been  made  of  the  formation  of  black  soils  under  swampy  conditions. 
Those  of  you  who  are  familiar  with  the  conditions  in  Brown,  Clermont,  Hamil- 
ton, southwestern  Clinton,  western  Highland  or  southern  Warren  counties  know 
of  the  "white  soils"  which  are  found  on  the  level  areas  there,  as  well  as  in  some 
other  sections  of  the  State.  You  have  doubtless  noted  that  these  "white  soils" 
do  not  occur  where  the  surface  is  rolling.  Their  formation  is  due  to  certain 
process  which  have  gone  on  under  intermittent  wet  and  dry  or  stagnant  water 
conditions.  If  the  surface  is  not  sufficiently  level  for  the  water  to  stand  several 
days  after  a  rain  these  processes  are  not  brought  about  and  the  "white  soil" 
is  not  formed. 

The  Size  of  the  Soil  Particles. 

Another  very  important  property  of  the  soil,  which  must  be  considered  in 
making  our  classification,  is  that  of  texture.  By  this  we  mean  the  relative  pro- 
portion of  the  particles  of  various  sizes  which  determine  whether  the  soil  shall 
be  called  a  sand,  a  loam,  a  clay  or  some  intermediate  class.  The  texture  is  the 
most  important  physical  property  of  the  soil  because  of  the  important  influence 
which  it  has  upon  the  water-holding  capacity  and  cultural  properties.  Through 
constant  practice  one  may  become  very  expert  in  judging  of  textural  differences. 
In  order,  however,  to  secure  the  greatest  uniformity  in  this  classification,  samples 
are  collected  and  mechanical  analyses  made  in  the  laboratory  in  order  to  furnish 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  71 

a  check  on  a  man's  field  judgment.  We  find  this  necessary  because  of  the  differ- 
ences in  different  men  as  to  what  constitutes  a  loam  or  clay.  You  gentlemen 
may  not  realize  it  but  this  difference  is  very  marked  among  farmers  themselves. 
In  sections  where  there  are  large  areas  of  sand  a  sandy  loam  with  a  clay  sub- 
soil will  be  called  a  clay,  but  where  the  surrounding  soils  are  largely  heavy  clays 
the  same  sandy  loam  will  be  termed  a  sandy  soil.  This  makes  some  standard 
necessary  in  order  that  we  may  know  whether  we  are  using  these  terms  with  the 
same  meaning.  It  is  of  course  necessary  to  determine  the  texture  of  both  soil 
and  subsoil  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  underlying  material.  You  can  readily 
understand  that  it  will  make  a  great  deal  of  difference  whether  the  substratum 
consists  of  gravel  or  clay.  In  the  first  case  the  drainage  will  be  excessive,  par- 
ticularly where  the  gravel  came  near  the  surface,  while  in  the  latter  it  will  be 
very  poor  and  especially  so  where  the  clay  is  of  an  impervious  nature. 

Color  an  Important  Consideration. 

One  of  the  most  obvious  physical  properties  of  the  soil,  one  which  has  been 
used  by  practical  farmers  as  an  index  of  its  character  from  time  immemorial, 
is  that  of  color.  "Black  soils,"  "red  soils,"  "gray  soils,"  "brown  soils,"  "white 
soils,"  etc.,  are  terms  in  very  common  use.  In  itself  color  may  be  of  very 
little  importance  but  as  an  indicator  of  physical  and  chemical  conditions  it  is  of 
the  greatest  moment.  The  practical  argriculturist  will  no  more  class  together 
soils  markedly  dissimilar  in  color  than  the  ethnologist  will  consider  a  white  man 
and  a  black  man  as  belonging  to  the  same  race. 

Observations  have  shown  that  certain  properties  of  the  soil  are  asso- 
ciated with  certain  color  characteristics.  A  black  color  has  come  to  be  al- 
most synonymous  to  productiveness.  If  the  soil  in  the  level,  rather  poorly 
drained  but  not  swampy  places  in  your  fields  have  turned  white  it  is  one  of 
the  best  evidences  that  I  know  of  the  need  of  lime.  So  far  as  my  rather  wide 
observations  have  extended  I  have  never  seen  these  "white  soils"  formed  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  amount  of  lime.  Their  occurrence  is  therefore  very  strong 
evidence  of  the  need  of  lime  not  only  in  the  "white  soils"  but  in  the  other  soils 
formed  from  the  same  character  of  material.  For  reasons  like  this  the  color 
is  of  the  very  greatest  value  to  the  soil  surveyor.  By  its  use  it  is  often  pos- 
sible to  detect  chemical  differences  which  the  most  refined  methods  of  chem- 
ical analysis  are  as  yet  unable  to  explain. 

Arrangement  of  the  Soil   Particles. 

One  must  also  consider  the  structure  of  the  soil,  or  the  arrangement  of 
the  particles  of  which  it  is  composed.  We  want  to  know  whether  a  soil  is  open 
and  porous  or  whether  it  is  compact  and  impervious,  whether  it  is  loose  and 
granular  and  easy  to  cultivate  or  whether  it  runs  together  and  is  difficult  to 
work.  Such  information  is  necessary  in  order  to  know  whether  a  soil  here  is 
similar  to  that  in  another  place 

The  Relation  of  Soil  to  Native  Vegetation. 

Since  the  object  of  the  soil  survey  work  is  to  secure  knowledge  which  will 
help  us  to  understand  better  the  relation  of  the  soil  to  plant  growth,  one  must  not 
forget  to  make  a  study  of  the  native  vegetation  and  various  crops,  as  this  will 
often  give  an  indication  of  differences*which  it  would  not  be  possible  to  detect 
otherwise.  It  is  sometimes  easy  to  trace  the  line  of  separation  between  two  soils 
by  the  difference  in  the  vegetation.  The  presence  of  certain  trees  like  the  chestnut 
and  sourwood  are  indicative  of  an  acid  condition  of  the  soil;  while  a  luxuriant 


72  ADDRESSES 

growth  of  leguminous  plants  usually  indicates  that  the  soil  is  not  in  need  of  lime. 
While  the  origin,  texture,  structure,  color,  amount  and  condition  of  organic 
matter,  native  vegetation  and  crop  yields  are  the  most  important  factors  to  be 
considered  in  making  a  survey  of  the  soils,  any  other-  differences  which  have  any 
apparent  influence  upon  the  growth  of  plants  must  not  be  overlooked. 

How  THE  Soil  Survey  Work  is   Performed. 

Having  in  mind  these  various  factors  the  soil  surveyor  goes  over  an  area, 
examines  the  soil,  determines  the  different  types  or  kinds  and  indicates  as  far  as 
practicable  on  his  map  the  location  of  areas  of  similar  soils.  He  studies  the 
peculiarities  of  each  and  every  type,  makes  full  notes  of  his  observations,  so  that 
when  his  work  is  completed  we  will  have  a  careful  description  of  the  various 
soils  found  in  the  area  which  he  has  covered.  We  hope  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  to  have  such  a  survey  of  the  entire  state  of  Ohio. 

A  Knowledge  of  Soils  Fundamental  to  Intelligent 
Agricultural  Investigation. 

This  leads  us  to  a  consideration  of  our  second  question,  "What  are  you 
doing  it  for?"     What  will  be  the  value  of  this  work? 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  primary  object  of  a  soil  survey  is  to 
furnish  information  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  soil.  Is  not  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  soil  as  fundamentally  important  to  the  agriculturist,  as  a  knowl- 
edge of  drugs  is  to  a  physician  or  a  knowledge  of  rocks  to  a  geologist? 
One  great  need  in  agricultural  work  today  is  a  more  general  recognition  of 
the  individuality  of  soils,  a  fuller  realization  of  the  true  meaning  of  soil  dif- 
ferences. Much  valuable  time  and  money  have  been  wasted  trying  to  draw 
conclusions  from  experiments  conducted  upon  entirely  dissimilar  soils.  Many 
of  the  contradictory  and  seemingly  inexplicable  results  obtained  by  different 
investigators,  or  even  by  the  same  investigator,  are  undoubtedly  due  to  funda- 
mental soil  differences  which  would  have  been  evident  from  a  comparative 
field  examination.  It  is  really  amusing  sometimes  to  read  the  heated  dis- 
cussions in  which  scientific  men  allow  themselves  to  indulge  because  they  do 
not  secure  the  same  results  from  similar  experiments.  If  they  would  only 
stop  and  determine  the  nature  of  the  soils  upon  which  their  experiments 
were  made  they  might  understand  the  cause  of  the  difference  and  be  less  sur- 
prised at  the  results.  Hilgard,  than  whom  this  country  has  never  produced 
a  greater  soil  investigator,  has  said,  "The  history  of  plat  experiments  shows 
so  common  and  unpardonable  neglect  on  the  part  of  experimenters  to  ascer- 
tain definitely  the  fundamental,  physical  and  chemical  conditions  that  their 
general  unsatisfactoriness  is  easily  accounted  for  on  that  score  alone."*  The 
failure  to  recognize  that  the  results  secured  upon  one  type  of  soil  do  not 
necessarily  hold  true  for  another,  is  responsible,  in  some  measure  at  least, 
for  the  distrust  which  farmers  have  often  shown  toward  the  work  of  scien- 
tific investigators.  You  are  told  that  a  certain  method  of  cultivation,  cer- 
tain varieties  of  crops,  certain  kinds  of  fertilizers,  etc.,  will  give  the  best 
results.  You  go  home  and  try  these  but  the  yields  are  not  what  you  expect- 
ed. Why?  Because  the  soil,  or  other  conditions,  on  your  farm  are  entirely 
different  from  that  upon  which  your   adviser's   experiments  were  conducted. 

Each  Soil  Type  Should  be  Studied  Separately. 

It  is  often  possible  to  learn  something  of  a  man's  opinion  about  a  ques- 
tion by  consulting  his  friends,  but  it  is  not  safe  to  depend  upon  them  entire- 


*  Agricultural  Science,  Vol.  6,  p.  327. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO   STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  73 

ly  for  information,  else  we  may  be  misled.  The  man  himself  and  he  alone 
can  give  definite  and  positive  knowledge  in  regard  to  what  he  thinks.  So 
with  soils.  Each  type  must  be  questioned  separately  and  individually.  The 
answer  given  may  then  be  safely  recommended  for  a  similar  soil  but  may 
not  apply  upon  one  of  an  entirely  different  character.  This  fact  has  been 
clearly  recognized  by  Director  Thorne  and  others  and  has  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  sub-Stations  in  different  parts  of  the  state  and  also  to  the  enact- 
ment of  a  law  permitting  each  county  to  have  an  individual  County  Test 
Farm.  And  may  I  add  here,  gentlemen,  that  if  any  of  you  have  anything  to 
do  with  selecting  one  of  these  farms,  you  endeavor  to '  secure  one  rep- 
resenting the  most  extensive  and  important  type  of  soil  in  the  county.  If 
there  are  two  or  more  types  of  about  equal  extent  and  an  adjoining  county 
has  a  test  farm  upon  one  of  these,  put  yours  on  another  type,  so  that  the  two 
will  be  of  mutual  benefit.  If  two  or  more  counties  will  work  together  in 
this  matter  it  will  be  possible  to  have  these  farms  on  all  the  important  soil 
types  in  the  state.  Above  all  don't  accept  a  farm  upon  which  the  soil  is  so 
mixed  that  it  is  impossible  to  secure  an  area  large  and  uniform  enough  for 
experimental  purposes. 

But  there  are  some  people  who  do  not  appreciate  the  truth  of  some  of 
the  statements  which  have  just  been  made.  They  do  not  realize  that  the  differ- 
ence in  the  soil  has  very  much  to  do  with  the  variety  of  a  crop,  for  example, 
vhich  will  do  the  best  on  your  farm.  It  is  well,  therefore,  that  we  look  into 
this  question  and  see  what  evidence  there  is  to  support  these  statements. 

Plants  Adapt  themselves  to  their  Environment. 

Everyone  admits  the  great  influence  of  environment  upcJn  both  animals  and 
plants.  In  fact,  this  influence  is  so  important  that  one  of  the  great  philosophers 
has  defined  life  as  a  correspondence  with  environment.  We  all  recognize  that 
we  cannot  do  our  best  work  when  out  of  harmony  with  our  surroundings.  This 
is  as  true  of  plants  as  of  men. 

In  the  Year  Book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1908  Professor 
Woods,  who  is  now  Director  of  the  Minnesota  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
says,  that  "As  far  as  they  are  able  plants  vary  and  adjust  themselves  to  their 
environment.  Under  natural  conditions  only  those  survive  which  can  modify  their 
habits  of  growth  so  as  to  make  a  successful  resistance  to  destructive  influences 
and  propagate  their  kind.  The  rest  die.  The  longer  a  species  or  variety  grows 
under  a  given  set  of  conditions  the  better  each  generation  bcomes  adapted  to  grow 
and  reproduce  under  these  conditions.  *  *  *  Selected  seed  of  crops  grown  un- 
der severe  limiting  conditions  will  as  a  rule  give  good  results  the  first  year  when 
grown  under  conditions  less  severe.  The  second  generation,  however,  begins  to 
vary  and  break  up,  and  unless  careful  attention  is  practiced  the  crop  soon  becomes 
very  unsatisfactory.  *  *  *  The  great  importance  of  selecting  and  growing  seed 
under  the  conditions  under  which  the  future  crop  must  be  grown  is  now  apparent. 
Careful  experiments  and  the  experience  of  careful  growers  have  abundantly  dem- 
onstrated the  truth  of  these  facts  presented.  Seed  breeders  and  growers  especially 
must  give  attention  to  these  points." 

Plants  Should  be  Assoilated  as  well  as  Acclimated. 

While  the  influence  of  environment  upon  the  growth  of  plants  is  now 
generally  admitted,  many  fail  to  realize  that  this  environment  consists  of 
two  parts:  an  above-ground  or  climatic  environment  and  an  underground  or 
soil  environment.  Although  the  influence  of  climate  upon  the  growth  and 
distribution  of  plants  has  long  been  recognized,  the  effect  of  a  change  from 


74  ADDRESSES 

one  kind  of  soil  to  another  has  been  given  much  less  consideration.  We  all 
Wnow  that  we  cannot  grow  oranges,  pineapples,  bananas  or  cotton  in  Ohio 
and  that  buckwheat,  rye,  oats  and  some  other  crops  will  not  do  well  in  trop- 
\cal  regions,  but  how  many  of  us  realize  the  important  change  in  the  soil  en- 
vironment to  which  we  are  asking  a  plant  to  adapt  itself  when  we  take  it 
from  a  deep  sand,  for  example,  and  place  it  on  a  heavy  clay? 

After  a  discussion  of  this  subject  with  a  gentleman  who  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  pioneers  and  leaders  in  plant  breeding,  he  said  "I  have  known 
^or  a  long  time  that  you  must  keep  a  plant  within  the  same  environment,  else 
the  good  results  secured  from  breeding  would  be  lost,  but  I  never  had  it  con- 
nected up  so  closely  with  soils  before."  Now  I  would  not  seek  to  minimize 
the  importance  of  climatic  environment,  but  I  do  wish  to  emphasize  the  in- 
fluence of  the  soil  environment  because  it  seems  to  me  that  the  part  it  plays 
is  not  fully  appreciated.  We  all  recognize  that  it  is  necessary  for  a  plant 
to  become  acclimated,  but  how  many  of  us  realize  that  it  is  necessary  for  it 
to  become  associated  also,  if  I  may  coin  this  expression. 

Different  Soils  are  Adapted  to  Different  Crops. 

That  some  soils  are  better  adapted  to  certain  crops  than  other  soils  is  being 
more  and  more  appreciated  every  year.  The  selection  of  the  peat  and  muck  soils 
for  the  production  of  celery  and  onions  gives  one  of  the  best  examples,  which  we 
have  in  this  State  of  the  special  adaption  of  a  particular  kind  of  soil  to  certain 
crops.  Attempts  to  grow  sugar  beets  on  the  Wooster  soil  have  been  a  failure,  but 
on  the  dark,  heavy  soil  of  the  county  test  farm  at  Paulding  are  proving  very  suc- 
cessful. Other  examples,  which  I  need  not  mention  here,  will  doubtless  occur  to 
all  of  you. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  adaption  of  soils  to  particular  crops  or  varieties  is 
as  yet  incomplete  and  is  doubtless  resulting  in  the  loss  of  thousands  of  dollars 
to  the  farmers  of  the  State.  Such  knowledge,  however,  cannot  be  obtained  until 
we  know  what  kind  of  soil  we  have  in  different  parts  of  the  State  and  have  made 
a  study  of  the  crops  best  suited  to  them. 

Crop  Varieties  in  their  Relation  to  Soil  Types. 

Not  only  are  different  soils  adapted  to  different  crops  but  they  are  also 
suited  to  different  varieties  of  the  same  crop. 

There  is  no  place  where  the  influence  of  the  soil  can  be  studied  so  satisfac- 
torily as  in  the  greenhouse,  for  here  temperature,  moisture  and  fertilization  are 
under  control  and  can  be  manipulated  to  suit  the  will  of  the  experimenter,  but 
fundamental  soil  differences  cannot  be  entirely  eliminated  by  any  amount  of  fer- 
tilization or  manipulation.  Other  factors  being  under  control,  the  influence  of 
the  soil  can  be  definitely  determined.  Some  florists  have  found  it  utterly 
impossible  to  compete  with  other  growers  in  the  production  of  certain  varieties 
of  violets,  for  example,  although  they  may  be  more  successful  with  other  varieties. 
No  satisfactory  explanation  has  been  offered  to  account  for  this  except  that  it 
is  due  to  some  inherent  quality  in  the  soil  which  makes  it  impossible  to  duplicate 
the  results  upon  any  other  than  the  one  used. 

A  Lesson  from  a  Study  of  Corn  Varieties. 

For  several  years  the  Experiment  Station  has  been  carrying  on  corn 
variety  tests  in  cooperation  with  members  of  the  Ohio  Corn  Improvement 
Association  and  other  farmers.  In  these  tests  the  check  plats  were  always 
home  grown  seed.     All  the  leading  varieties  grown  in  the  State  were  included 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  75 

in  the  tests,  although  the  same  varieties  were  not  always  grown  on  the  same 
field.  By  taking  the  average  of  all  the  varieties,  where  the  seed  was  grown 
elsewhere  than  on  the  farm,  and  comparing  this  with  the  average  of  the 
checks,  which  were  planted  with  home-grown  seed,  it  is  possible  to  get 
some  idea  of  the  influence  of  or  adaptation  to  local  conditions.  An  average 
of  165  different  tests  located  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  gave  a  yield  of  1.7  bush- 
els in  favor  of  the  checks  or  home-grown  seed.  When  we  consider  that  there 
were,  according  to  the  Year  Book  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, 3,960,000  acres  of  corn  in  Ohio  in  1910,  we  can  easily  see  that  a  dif- 
ference in  yield  of  only  1.7  bushels  means  several  million  dollars  to  the 
farmers  of  this  State.  No  clalim  of  absolute  accuracy  is  made  for  these  fig- 
ures, but  they  enable  us  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  adaptation  of 
varieties  to  local  conditions,  among  which  the  soil  is  probably  the  most  im- 
portant. 

An  Illinois  Wheat  Experiment. 

Bulletin  121  of  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  reports  the  results  of 
variety  tests  of  wheat.  These  were  conducted  in  three  sections  of  the  state, 
— northern,  central  and  southern.  The  first  two  were  located  on  a  black 
prairie  silt  loam  of  marked  fertility;  the  last  upon  a  white,  very  acid  silt  loam 
of  much  lower  agricultural  value.  As  a  result  of  three  years'  trial  it  is  stated 
that  the  Turkey  Red  variety  stood  first  or  among  the  very  best  upon  the 
black  prairie  soil,  not  only  in  Illinois  but  also  in  Iowa.  However,  upon  the 
light-colored  soil  this  variety  yielded  5.2  bushels  per  acre  less  than  the  Ful- 
caster,  a  variety  which  had  been  grown  on  this  soil  for  a  number  of  years. 
If  these  wheat  variety  tests  had  been  conducted  upon  the  "black  soils"  alone 
and  the  Turkey  Red,  which  proved  to  be  the  best  yielding  variety  on  these 
soils,  had  been  distributed  to  the  farmers,  situated  upon  the  "white  soils"  in 
southern  Illinois,  it  would  have  resulted  in  the  loss  to  them  of  approximately 
one-third  of  their  wheat  crop;  as  the  Turkey  Red  gave  a  yield  of  11. 4  bushels 
compared  with  an  average  of  16.6  for  the  Fulcaster.  This  experiment  brings 
out  very  forcibly  the  necessity  for  testing  out  the  variety  upon  the  soil  upon 
which  it  is  to  be  sown. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the  Turkey  Red  wheat, 
which  gave  the  largest  yield  at  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station,  is  one  of  the 
very  poorest  yielders  on  the  Ohio  Experiment  Farm  at  Wooster.  -This  variety 
has  also  been  tried  in  North  Carolina  and  Pennsylvania  and  has  proved  one  of 
the  lowest  yielders  in  both  states.  The  only  soils  in  this  State  upon  which  this 
variety  has  given  anything  like  a  satisfactory  yield  are  the  black  soils,  which  are 
not  very   different  from  those  in  Illinois. 

The  Close  Relation  between  the  Tobacco  Crop  and  the  Soil. 

None  of  our  great  crops  has  been  so  highly  speciahzed  as  tobacco.  The 
demands  of  the  trade  have  forced  'this  upon  the  farmers.  Tobacco  does  not  go 
upon  the  market  simply  as  tobacco,  but  as  smoking,  chewing,  filler  and  wrapper 
tobacco.  In  other  words,  the  quality  of  the  leaf  determines  the'  use  to  which 
it  will  be  put  and  this  in  turn  depends  very  largely  upon  the  character  of  the 
soil.  Bright  yellow  tobacco,  which  is  used  for  smoking  and  cigarettes,  cannot 
be  produced  upon  a  heavy-textured  soil  and  a  single  trial  will  be  sufficient  to 
convince  the  most  unconvincible  farmer.  It  is  soon  discovered  that  the  leaf 
has  become  too  thick  and  dark  for  this  purpose.  No  such  trade  conditions, 
however,  exist  in  regard  to  wheat,  cotton,  corn,  and  oats.  The  principal  . 
thing  vv^ith  these  crops  is  quantity  rather  than  quality  and  the   farmers  generally 


76  ADDRESSES 

(and  I  think  I  might  safely  say  many  of  those  who  call  themselves  scientists 
instead  of  farmers)  have  not  appreciated  the  importance  of  securing  the  variety 
adapted  to  their  particular  soils. 

A  Misguided  Benefactor. 

A  few  years  ago  a  prominent  banker  in  this  State  saw  an  account  of  a 
variety  of  wheat  which  the  Kansas  Experiment  Station  had  found  to  produce  very 
much  larger  yields  than  other  varieties.  Being  desirous  of  helping  the  farmers  in 
his  section  he  secured  25  bushels  of  this  wheat  at  $2.00  per  bushel  and  distributed 
it  among  his  farmer  friends,  but  reaped  a  harvest  of  disappointment  as  the  wheat 
proved  much  inferior  to  home  varieties.  The  black  soils,  which  are  more  like 
those  in  Kansas  than  any  others  in  this  State,  where  the  only  ones  upon  which  the 
yield  was  at  all  satisfactory.  By  the  soil  survey  we  want  to  help  eliminate  such  mis- 
takes as  this;  we  want  to  show  public  spirited  citizens  like  this  banker  the  lines 
along  which  their  enthusiasm  can  be  expended  to  advantage. 

Similar  illustrations  could  be  supplied  almost  indefinitely,  but  these  call 
attention  to  the  necessity  of  considering  the  soil  factor  in  all  variety  or  crop 
adaptation  studied.  For  if  a  variety,  which  is  developed  in  a  certain  environ- 
ment, will  not  do  best  when  placed  in  different  surroundings  and  if  the  soil 
constitutes  an  essential  part  of  this  environment,  then  the  change  of  a  plant 
from  one  soil  to  another  may  negative  the  good  effects  of  years  of  patient 
breeding.  A  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  soil  in  different  parts  of  the 
State,  therefore,  becomes  an  essential  and  necessary  corollary  to  a  study  of 
variety  adaptations.  Such  knowledge  will  be  especially  valuable  in  the  plant- 
ing of  apples  and  other  crops  where  years  must  elapse  before  returns  are 
secured  and  where  a  mistake  means  great  loss  of  both  time  and  money. 

Soil  Types  and  the  Livestock  Industry. 

In  Bulletin  222*  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station  is  published  the  "results 
of  a  study  of  the  mineral  nutrients  in  blue  grass,  from  which  it  appears  that 
some  blue-grass  pastures  in  Ohio  contains  twice  as  high  percentages  of  the  mineral 
nutrients  as  others,  these  differences  being  due  to  differences  in  the  soils  upon 
which  the  grasses  were  grown.  It  is  also  shown  that  the  content  of  blue-grass  in 
mineral  nutrients  may  be  very  greatly  increased  by  the  use  of  fertilizers.  There 
is  every  reason  to  beHeve  that  the  grass  on  a  soil  which  is  rich  in  lime  and 
phosphorus  is  a  better  food  and  will  produce  more  bone  especially,  and  also  more 
muscle  and  more  milk,  than  grass  grown  on  unfertile  soils."  In  a  recent  bulletin  of 
the  West  Virginia  Experiment  Station*  it  is  stated  that  "The  success  or  failure 
of  any  poultry  enterprise  depends  to  a  large  extent  upon  the  character  of  the 
soil  upon  which  the  poultry  plant  is  located,  for  if  the  soil  is  too  heavy  and 
tenacious  there  is  a  tendency  for  disease  germs  to  accumulate  to  such  an  extent 
that  after  a  time  the  fowls  become  unthrifty  and  unprofitable."  It  would  seem, 
therefore,  that  a  knowledge  of  the  soil  will  be  of  much  value  to  the  raiser  of 
stock  or  other  animals  as  well  as  of  plants. 

Different  Soils  Require  Different  Systems  of  Soil  Management. 

We  have  seen  that  the  kind  or  variety  of  crop  which  a  farmer  can  most 
profitably  grow  depends  to  a  certain  extent  at  least  upon  the  character  of  the  soil. 
It  is  just  as  necessary  to  consider  these  differences  in  connection  with  the  meth- 
ods  of   soil   management  which   should  be  adopted.     Whether  to  plow   deep  or 


*Summary  of  Bulletin  222  as  given  by  Director  Thorne  in  the  Thirteenth 
Annual  Report  Ohio  Ex.  Sta.  p.  xxiii. 

*  Bulletin  135,  West  Virginia  Experiment  Station. 


ANNUAL    MEETING   OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  // 

shallow,  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring,  whether  to  turn  under  the  clover  crop  or 
cut  it  for  hay,  whether  to  apply  the  manure  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring,  and 
various  other  problems,  depend  to  a  very  large  extent  upon  the  character  of  the 
soil. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  Agronomy  at  Columbus  last  fall 
Dr.  Lipman,  Director  of  the  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station,  said  that  it  was  a 
common  practice  among  the  farmers  in  certain  sections  of  New  Jersey  to  apply 
the  manure  in  the  spring  instead  of  hauling  it  out  on  the  fields  as  fast  as  made, 
the  method  pronounced  best  by  practically  all  the  experiment  stations.  An  exam- 
ination of  the  soils  in  the  localities  where  this  practice  is  common  showed  them 
to  be  of  a  very  sandy  nature  and  leachy  character  and  if  the  manure  had  been 
hauled  out  in  the  fall  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  fertility  would  have  leached 
out  before  it  was  needed  by  the  crop  the  next  season.  On  heavy  soils  such  leaching 
would  not  take  place.  This  illustrates  the  necessity  of  adapting  the  methods  of 
soil  management  to  the  particular  soil. 

Profitable  and  Unprofitable  Fertilization. 

As  our  soils  are  becoming  more  and  more  depleted  by  exhaustive  methods  of 
farming,  the  question  of  fertilization  is  becoming  one  of  greater  and  greater  im- 
portance. All  soils,  however,  do  not  respond  equally  to  the  same  kind  of  fertil- 
izers. Some  need  lime,  some  do  not;  some  need  phosphorus  (most  of  our  Ohio 
soils  probably  do),  some  may  not;  many  may  not  need  potash,  some  undoubtedly 
do;  some  need  nitrogen,  others  have  an  abundance  of  this  element. 

At  Wooster  it  is  only  necessary  for  one  to  observe  the  plots  in  order  to  see 
the  beneficial  effect  of  lime  upon  this  soil.  At  Germantown,  however.  Director 
Thorne  states  *  "that  if  lime  has  produced  any  effect  thus  far  it  has  been  to  re- 
duce the  yield,  but  the  work  has  not  yet  been  continued  long  enough  to  afford  con- 
clusive evidence  on  this  point.  At  Carpenter  the  effect  of  lime  is  less  evident 
than  on  the  Wooster  and  Strongsville  soils."  Most  farmers  know  that  the  applica- 
tion of  lime  to  a  heavy  clay  makes  it  more  porous  and  easily  worked,  while,  under 
the  same  treatment,  a  sand  becomes  more  compact  and  retentive  of  moisture. 

As  an  average  of  two  five-year  rotations,  consisting  of  corn,  oats,  wheat, 
clover  and  timothy,  at  Wooster  and  Strongsville,  an  application  of  20  pounds 
of  phosphorus,  108  pounds  of  potassium  and  114  pounds  of  nitrogen  gave  a 
net  profit  of  $7.36  per  acre  at  Wooster  and  a  loss  of  $2.01  at  Strongsville.  An 
application  of  the  same  amount  of  phosphorus  and  potassium  on  another  plot, 
but  'jd  instead  of  114  pounds  of  nitrogen,  gave  a  net  profit  of  $12.04  per  acre 
at  Wooster  and  of  $1.64  at  Strongsville.  In  a  three-year  rotation  of  corn, 
wheat  and;  clover  an  application  of  16  1-2  pounds  of  potash  and  of  25  1-3  pounds- 
of  nitrogen  per  acre,  gave  a  net  loss  of  8  cents  per  acre  at  Germantown  but  a 
gain  of  $1.07  per  acre  at  Carpenter.  An  application  of  6  2-3  pounds  of  nitro- 
gen, 30  pounds  of  phosphorus,  33  pounds  of  potassium  and  1000  pounds  of 
lime  gave  a  net  loss  of  54  cents  per  acre  at  Germantown  and  a  gain  of  $3.06 
per  acre  at  Carpenter.  These  results  show  that  the  application  of  a  certain 
kind  of  fertilizer  may  prove  profitable  on  one  soil  and  unprofitable  on  an- 
other. A  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  soil  is  therefore  necessary  be- 
fore anyone  can  advise  most  intelligently  in  regard  to  the  use  of  fertilizers. 

Why  Doctors  Disagree. 

New  York  and  Massachusetts  have  been  carrying  on  experiments  with  fer- 
tilzers  on  apple  orchards  for  a  number  of  years.  As  a  result  of  the  New  York 
experiments  it  is  stated  *'That  the  fertilizers  have  had  no  sensible  effect  upon  the- 

*  Bulletin  182,  p.  180,  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


78  ADDRESSES 

yield  of  fruit  in  this  experiment."  In  Bulletin  100  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
College  and  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  is  given  the  data  in  regard  to 
the  Massachusetts  experiment  furnished  by  the  Director  of  the  Massachusetts 
Experiment  Station.  It  is  here  stated  that  "in  every  respect  the  treated  plots  have 
proven  superior  to  the  untreated."  A  forthcoming  report  of  the  Ohio  Experiment 
Station  will  show  that  "the  increase  in  fruit  production  of  the  mulched  and  fer- 
tilized  plots,  as  compared  with  those  receiving  no  fertiHzation,  has  ranged  from 
200  to  1000  per  cent,  within  eighteen  months  from  the  time  of  the  first  applica- 
,tion."  One  of  our  agricultural  papers  recently  called  attention  to  the  different 
conclusions  reached  by  the  first  two  experiments  stations  and  raised  the  question 
as  to  what  the  farmer  is  to  do  when  authorities  disagree.  The  soil  upon  which  the 
experiments  were  conducted  are  not  the  same  and  it  seems  to  me  that  this  fur- 
nished the  reason  why  such  entirely  different  results  were  secured.  The  farmer, 
therefore,  must  know  which  of  the  soils  is  like,  or  most  like,  that  upon  his 
own  farm  before  he  can  tell  which  experiments  to  follow.  A  soil  survey  will  fur- 
nish this  information. 

Why  Chemical  Analysis  is  Unsatisfactory. 

The  failure  to  recognize  the  importance  of  the  differences  in  soil  is  one  of 
the  probable  reasons  why  no  more  satisfactory  results  have  been  secured  from 
chemical  analyses.  Chemists  have  tried  to  establish  a  standard  that  would  apply 
to  all  soils.  Is  this  not  too  much  like  trying  to  produce  a  medicine  that  would 
cure  all  diseases?  We  know  that  moisture  in  the  soil  is  just  as  essential  for  the 
growth  of  plants  as  the  presence  of  phosphorus  or  potassium  or  nitrogen,  but  it  is 
not  possible  to  establish  a  standard  or  optimum  amount  which  will  apply  to  all  soils. 
An  amount  which  would  give  the  largest  growth  to  a  plant  on  a  sand  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  its  death  on  a  heavy  clay.  Since  this  is  true  in  regard  to  moist- 
ure, may  not  be  true  in  regard  to  other  compounds  also,  although  in  a  less 
marked  degree?  The  interpretation  of  the  chemical  analyses  of  soils  in  the  past 
ha?s  been  undertaken  with  practically  no  regard  to  the  differences  which  are  very 
obvious  in  the  field.  The  analysis  of  a  sand  has  been  compared  with  that  of  a 
clay,  although  the  two  are  about  as  unlike  as  two  soils  can  be.  It  is  very  much  to 
me  as  if  a  man  were  to  secure  samples  of  a  great  many  different  kinds  of  grain, 
analyze  them  and  then  endeavor  to  interpret  their  composition  without  first  ascer- 
taining whether  he  was  analyzing  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye  or  barley. 

The  Cart  before  the  Horse. 

A  little  more  than  three  years  ago  I  was  invited  to  give  a  talk  upon  some 
phase  of  soil  work  before  the  students  of  one  of  our  largest  and  most  progressive 
universities.  In  the  course  of  the  address  I  tried  to  emphasize  the  importance  of 
the  study  of  soils  in  the  field.  When  I  had  finished  the  professor  who  had  charge 
of  the  soil  work  in  that  state  said  to  me  "You  have  taken  exactly  the  opposite 
view  in  regard  to  the  study  of  soils  from  that  along  which  we  have  been  work- 
ing. We  have  thought  it  best  to  collect  samples  from  different  sections  of  the 
state,  analyze  them  and  study  them  in  the  laboratory,  using  the  information  there 
obtained  as  an  aid  in  reaching  the  proper  basis  on  which  to  separate  and  classify 
the  soils.  You  would  classify  them  upon  obvious  field  differences  and  use  the 
laboratory  as  a  means  of  explaining  those  differences  which  cannot  be  explained 
from  the  field  study  alone,  and  the  more  I  think  about  the  matter  the  more  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  you  are  right."  I  might  add  that  the  legislature  of  that 
state  is  now  appropriating  $10,000  a  year  for  the  conduct  of  a  soil  survey. 

*  Bulletin  No.  339,  page  154,  New  York  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  79 

The  causes  of  the  differences  in  the  crop  producing  power  of  our  soils 
is  certainly  one  of  the  most  important,  if  not  the  most  important,  problems 
with  which  our  soil  investigators  have  to  deal.  xA.fter  many  years  of  patient 
investigation  there  are  many  things  relating  to  this  great  problem  about 
which  we  know  practically  nothing.  The  classifying  and  mapping  of  the  var- 
ious types,  together  with  a  study  of  the  conditions  and  processes  under  which 
they  have  been  formed,  will  furnish  essential  and  invaluable  data  for  the  con- 
duct of  laboratory  investigation.  The  field  is  Nature's  great  laboratory  and 
a  study  of  her  methods  cannot  fail  to  offer  many  valuable  suggestions  and  in 
some  cases  the  only  means  of  solving  her  problems.  The  field  observation 
or  experiment  can  be  used  as  check  upon  and  as  an  aid  in  the  interpretation 
of  laboratory  investigations  and  as  stated  by  Dr.  Wheeler,  Director  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Station,  "is  a  safe  and  necessary  anchor  with  which  to  keep 
the  laboratory  experimenter  from  being  dashed  against  the  rock  of  pure 
speculation."*  It  is  only  through  a  combination  of  field  and  laboratory  stud- 
ies that  an  understanding  of  many  of  these  fundamental  and  puzzling  prob- 
lems can  be  reached. 

The  Soil  Survey  a  Fundamental  Part  of  the  Agricultural  Survey. 

The  Experiment  Station  is  now  conducting  an  Agricultural  Survey  of  this 
Sti|te.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  at  this  time  to  explain  in  detail  the  character 
of  this  work,  as  this  has  already  been  done  by  Professor  Goddard,  who  knows  a 
great  deal  more  about  the  subjest  than  I  do.  I  will  state  briefly,  however, 
that  it  will  embrace  a  historical  study  of  the  different  classes  of  people,  crops, 
livestock  and  types  of  farming;  the  date  of  introduction,  the  rate  of  increase  and 
cause  of  the  decline  of  each,  if  such  exists.  A  circular  has  been  issued  showing 
the  centers  of  rural  population,  and  the  townships  in  which  increases  and  decreases 
have  occurred.  Another  circular  gives  the  centers  of  agricultural  production,  the 
average  yield  per  acre  and  shows  the  townships  which  produce  the  most  wheat, 
the  most  corn,  the  most  oats,  the  most  tobacco,  the  most  alfalfa  and  other  data. 
A  study  of  the  reason  for  these  differences  will  be  made  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
soil  is  an  essential  factor  in  all  such  investigations. 

Studies  of  the  farm  practice  problems  relating  to  selected  individual  crops 
or  enterprises  will  be  taken  up.  Such  a  study  of  alfalfa  has  already  been  made, 
and  it  was  found  that  the  character  of  the  soil  is  one  of  the  principal  factors  in 
determining  whether  this  crop  can  be  grown  successfully. 

Farm  Management  Surveys  for  the  purpose  of  securing  all  possible 
information  regarding  investment,  expenses,  incomes,  enterprises,  rotations, 
types  of  farming,  etc.,  connected  with  each  farm  within  an  area,  which  has 
been  selected  as  typical  of  larger  areas,  are  being  made;  more  definite  infor- 
mation as  to  the  exact  cost  of  the  production  of  farm  crops  is  being  secured; 
studies  and  reports  dealing  with  the  methods  of  farm  practice  used  on  suc- 
cessful farms  in  the  state  are  being  undertaken.  All  of  these  studies  are  of 
great  importance  and  will  be  of  much  value  to  the  farmers  of  the  State,  but 
you  farmers  must  know  whether  the  soil  on  the  farms  upon  which  such  stud- 
ies are  conducted  is  similar  to  your  own  before  you  can  be  sure  that  it  will 
be  best  for  you  to  adopt  the  methods  found  to  be  most  profitable  on  some 
other  farm.  By  a  determination  and  careful  description  of  the  soil  types  of 
the  State  we  expect  to  make  it  possible  for  every  intelligent  farmer  to  know 
what  type  or  types  of  soil  he  has  on  his  place  and  thus  be  in  a  position  to 
use  to  best  advantage  the  large  amount  of  valuable  data  which  is  being  se- 
cured relating  to  various  kinds  of  agriculture. 


*  Proceedings  of  the  American  Society  of  Agronomy,  Vol.  I,  p.  44. 


80  ADDRESSES 

What  the  Soil  Survey  Hopes  to  Accomplish. 

There  is  nothing  more  vital  to  the  well-being  of  a  nation  than  agriculture  and 
nothing  more  vital  to  agriculture  than  the  soil.  Since  this  is  true  can  there  be 
anything  of  greater  importance  than  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  properties  and 
peculiarities  of  the  numerous  types  of  soils,  together  with  an  understanding  of  the 
kinds  and  varieties  of  crops,  the  methods  of  soil  management,  the  system  of  rota- 
tion and  farm  management,  the  kind  and  amount  of  fertilization,  best  suited  to 
each  individual  type. 

Don't  understand  me  to  claim,  gentlemen,  that  the  soil  survey  will  in 
itself  answer  all  of  these  questions.  We  do  believe  that  it  is  fundamental 
work  in  that  it  will  furnish  the  basis  for  the  various  lines  of  investigation 
v\rhich  are  necessary  to  secure  this  information,  and  is  therefore  absolutely 
essential  to  a  proper  solution  of  these  problems.  All  these  studies  must  be 
made  from  the  standpoint  of  the  individual  soil  type  if  the  best  results  are 
to  be  secured. 

It  is  not  possible  for  the  Experiment  Station  to  conduct  experiments 
on  every  farm  in  the  State.  Such  a  course  is  entirely  impracticable  and  un- 
necessary. We  do  believe,  however,  that  studies  should  be  made  on  all  the 
important  soil  types  so  that  we  may  know  just  what  is  best  for  each  of  these. 

With  a  central  experiment  station,  sub-stations,  county  test  farms,  cooperative 
experiments  with  the  farmers,  and  studies  of  the  practices  on  individual  farms 
a  great  deal  of  data,  pertaining  to  the  requirements  of  each  particular  soil,  can  be 
rapidly  secured.    In  fact,  a  large  amount  of  material  has  already  been  acquired. 

With  the  knowledge  and  careful  description  of  the  soils,  which  will  be  secured 
through  the  soil  survey,  we  will  be  able,  to  determine  pretty  accurately  what  type 
of  soil  occurs  on  any  farm  and  thus  be  in  a  position  to  give  much  more  definite 
and  positive  advice  than  is  now  possible.  We  hope  some  day  to  be  able  to  write 
a  prescription  to  fit  your  particular  conditions,  but  we  must  know  what  those  con- 
ditions are  before  this  can  be  done.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  local 
conditions  is  the  soil  and  a  knowledge  of  this  is,  therefore,  an  essential  step  in 
the  different  lines  of  investigation  which  may  make  this  possible.  This  knowl- 
edge we  expect  to  secure  through  the  soil  survey  which  we  are  just  beginning. 
When  this  survey,  and  the  various  lines  of  investigation  with  which  it  is  proposed 
to  follow  it  up  and  of  which  it  forms  the  basis  are  completed,  we  believe  there 
will  have  been  accomplished  something  which  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
farmers  of  this  State,  a  work  which  will  help  Ohio  to  keep  in  the  very  forefront 
of  agricultural  production. 


POSSIBLE  CROP  YIELDS   IN   OHIO. 

By  C.  E.  Thorne. 
Director  Experiment  Station,  Wooster,  0. 

Ohiojs  growing  annually  about  35  bushels  of  corn  and  about  14^^  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre.  This  yield  of  wheat  is  less  than  half  of  that  produced  in  England 
and  but  little  more  than  half  the  yield  of  France  and  Germany.  Those  countries 
started  200  years  ago  with  a  yield  smaller  than  the  present  yield  of  Ohio.  Even 
fifty  years  ago  the  yield  in  those  countries  was  not  so  very  much  greater  than  the 
present  Ohio  yield,  but  it  has  been  brought  up  within  the  last  half  century  to  the 
present  figures  largely  through  the  application  of  scientific  methods  to  the  culti- 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE. 


81 


vation  of  the  soil.  That  there  is  no  good  reason  for  the  present  low  yield  in 
Ohio  has  been  abundantly  proven  by  the  work  which  is  in  progress  at  the  Exper- 
riment   Station. 

In  selecting  land  for  this  Station  one  farm  was  chosen  which  had  been  in  cul- 
tivation for  three-fourths  of  a  century,  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  that  time  under 
tenant  husbandry.  The  farm  buildings  consisted  of  a  large  stone  house  and  an 
excellent  barn,  such  buildings  as  made  Wayne  county  famous  25  years  ago,  and 
which  bore  evidence  to  the  fact  that  the  land  when  first  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion had  responded  liberally  to  treatment;  but  the  land  itself,  as  shown  when  the 
Station  made  its  purchase,  had  been  brought  down  to  a  very  low  state  of  pro- 
ductiveness. Part  of  this  land  was  an  old  timothy  meadow,  which  had  been 
cropped  and  mown  until  little  was  left  but  weeds,  and  part  a  wheat  stubble 
which  apparently  had  a  similar  history.  On  this  land  we  located  art  experiment 
in  the  cultivation  of  corn,  oc"3,  wheat,  clover  and  timothy  in  a  5-year  rotation, 
five  tracts  of  land  being  laid  out  in  tenth-acre  plots,  each  crop  being  grown  every 
season.  In  the  first  table  accompanying  is  shown  the  arrangement  of  some  of 
these  plots  and  their  average  yield  per  acre  for  the  last  8  years,  the  experiment 
having  been  in  progress  for  18  years. 

TABLE  I  —  Eight-year  Average  Yields  of  Crops   Grown   in  5- year  Rotation 
Yields  and  Values  Per  Acre. 


Plot  10 
Untreated 


Plot  11 
Fertilized 


Plot  IQ 
Fertilized 


Plot  13 
Untreated 


Corn  —  bushels   

Oats  — bushels    

Wheat  —  bushels    

Clover  —  pounds  hay   . 
Timothy  — •  pounds  h-ay 


25.9 
32.3 
13.0 

2090. 

3074. 


Average  annual  value 

Average  annual  cost  of  fertilizer, 

Average  annual  net  value 

Average  annual  net  gain 


$11.22' 


Plot  16 
Untreated 


49.8 
50.7 
31.1 

3986. 

4543. 


$20.78 

4.70 

16.08 

4.88 


Plot  17 
Fertilized 


40.5 
48.5 
31.2 

4061. 

4492. 


27.1 
31.9 
12.9 

2241. 

3058. 


$20.63 

6.10 

14.53 

3.20 


$11.33 


Plot  m 
Manured 


Plot  19 
Untreated 


Corn  —  bushels    

Oats  —  bushels    

Wheat  —  bushels  

Clover  —  pounds  hay  ., 
Timothy  —  pounds  hay 


Average  annual  value 

Average  annual  cost  of  fertilizer. 

Average  annual  net  value 

Average  annual  net  gain 

Net  gain  per  ton  of  manure 


25.2 
31.0 
12.0 

2046. 

2921. 


50.4 
54.0 
28.4 

4000. 

4274. 


58.9 
46.8 
30.2 

5077. 

5164. 


28.4 
31.9 
13.7 

2207. 

3117. 


$10.72 


$20.38 

3.50 

16.88 

6.16 


$22.65 

1.60 

21.05 

9.43 

3.44 


$11.62 


The  plots  in  these  experiments  are  16  feet  wide  by  272  feet  long  and  are 
separated  by  paths  two  feet  wide.  Every  third  plot  has  been  left  continuously 
unfertilized  and  unmanured  from  the  beginning  of  the  experiment;  otherwise  all 
have  had  the  same  treatment  as   to   drainage  and   cultivation.     The  upper  part 

6*      AD.    BD.    AGR. 


82  ADDRESSES 

of  the  table  shows  the  yields  of  Plots  10,  11,  12  and  13,  Nos.  10  and  1<*  being 
unfertilized  while  Nos.  11  and  12  receive  annually  a  large  application  of  <i  com- 
plete commercial  fertilizer,  made  up  of  nitrate  of  soda,  acid  phosphate  and 
muriate  of  potash,  the  fertilizers  being  distributed  over  the  three  cereal  crops, 
while  the  clover  and  timothy  follow  without  any  treatment.  The  total  cost  of 
the  treatment  on  Plot  11  is  $23.50  for  each  five-year  rotation,  and  that  on  Plot 
12  is  $30.50,  the  increased  cost  on  Plot  12  being  due  to  the  use  of  a  larger 
quantity  of  nitrate  of  soda.  These  applications  would  be  equivalent  to  an  annual 
expenditure  of  $4.70  for  each  of  the  five  years  on  Plot  11,  and  $6.10  annually 
on  Plot  12.  If  we  estimate  corn  at  one-half  dollar  per  bushel,  oats  at  one-third 
of  a  dollar,  wheat  at  90  cents  and  hay  at  $8.00  per  ton,  and  throw  in  the  extra 
produce  of  stover  and  straw  to  balance  the  extra  labor  of  applying  the  fertilizer 
and  harvesting  the  additional  crops  produced,  the  total  annual  value  of  the  five 
crops  of  the  rotation  produced  on  Plot  10  would  amount  to  $11.22  per  acre, 
and  that  on  Plot  13  to  $11.33,  while  the  values  on  Plots  11  and  12  would  amount 
to  $20.78  and  $20.63  respectively.  Deducting  from  these  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer, 
we  have  a  net  value  of  $16.08  on  Plot  11,  and  $14.53  on  Plot  12.  Subtracting 
from  these  the  value  of  the  produce  grown  on  the  unfertilized  plots  alongside, 
we  have  a  net  annual  gain  of  $4.88  on  Plot  11,  and  $3.20  on  Plot  12. 

The  experiment  indicates  that  we  have  used  nitrogen  excessively  on  Plot 
12,  and  in  order  to  study  this  point  further  we  have  four  more  plots,  16,  17,  18 
and  19.  Plots  16  and  19,  like  10  and  13,  have  been  left  continuously  unfertilized, 
while  17  receives  a  fertilizer  carrying  half  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  given  to  Plot 
11  and  about  50%  more  phosphorus,  and  18  receives  for  every  5-year  period  16 
tons  of  open  yard  manure  —  8  tons  each  on  corn  and  wheat.  The  outcome  is  that 
for  the  8  years  under  consideration  the  value  of  the  crops  grown  on  Plot  16 
has  amounted  to  $10.72,  and  on  Plot  13,  to  $11.62,  while  those  grown  on  Plot  17 
have  amounted  to  $20.38,  or  only  40  cents  less  than  on  Plot  11,  and  the  manured 
plot  has  yielded  an  average  value  of  $22.65.  The  fertilizers  applied  to  Plot  17 
have  cost  $3.50  annually,  leaving  a  net  value  of  $16.88,  or  a  net  gain  over  the 
unfertilized  plot  of  $6.16;  that  is,  this  combination  of  fertilizing  materials  applied 
to  Plot  17,  at  a  cost  of  $17.50  for  every  5-year  period,  or  $3.50  annually,  has  been 
paid  for  in  the  increase  of  crop  with  an  average  profit  over  and  above  its  cost 
of  more  than  $6.00.  Taking  the  manured  plot  and  deducting  $1.60  to  balance  the 
extra  labor  of  hauling  and  distributing  the  manure  over  and  above  the  cost  of 
applying  the  fertilizer,  we  have  a  net  gain  per  acre  each  year  of  $9.43,  or  a  total 
tiet  gain  of  $46.00  for  the  5-year  period,  to  pay  for  16  tons  of  manure,  which 
amounts  to  nearly  $3.50  for  each  ton  of  manure. 

The  yields  on  the  unfertilized  plots  in  this  experiment,  for  the  period  under 
review,  have  been  for  corn  less  by  about  ten  bushels  per  acre,  and  for  wheat 
less  by  about  five  bushels  than  the  yields  over  Wayne  county,  thus  showing  that 
the  land  under  experiment  is  not  above  the  average  of  Wayne  county  in  natural 
fertility;  while  the  fertilized  and  manured  yields  in  this  test  have  been  about  15 
bushels  per  acre  for  corn  and  nearly  as  many  bushels  for  wheat  above  the  average 
yields  of  the  county.  It  will  be  seen  therefore  that  on  this  very  thin  land  we 
have  been  able  to  bring  up  the  yields  of  wheat  to  figures  equal  to  the  European 
yields  I  have  mentioned,  and  to  do  this  by  methods  which  have  left  a  net  gain 
over  and  above  the  cost  of  treatment  sufficient  to  pay  a  good  rental  on  the  land.. 
^  As  I  have  stated,  the  manure  used  in  this  experiment  has  been  open-yard 
manure,  which  has  been  exposed  to  the  weather  for  from  4  to  6  months  before 
applying  to  the  land.  We  have  believed  from  the  start  that  such  manure  had 
lost  much  of  its  value,  but  we  wished  to  see  what  could  be  done  with  the  ordi- 
nary barnyard  manure  of  the  average  Ohio  farm.  Another  experiment,  however, 
is  in  progress  at  the  Station,  in  which  we  are  endeavoring  to  learn  something  as 


ANNUAL    MEETING    OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF    AGRICULTURE. 


83 


to  the  loss  which  manure  suffers  when  exposed  in  the  open  barnyard.  This  ex- 
periment is  on  the  same  farm  as  the  one  just  described,  and  is  conducted  on  the 
same  general  plan.  In  this  experiment  only  three  crops  are  grown  in  rotation  — 
corn,  wheat  and  clover  —  and  the  manure  is  all  applied  to  the  clover  sod  during 
the  winter  and  spring,  and  plowed  under  for  corn,  the  manure  being  used  uni- 
formly at  the  rate  of  8  tons  per  acre.  Plots  14  and  17  in  this  test  have  been 
continuously  unmanured,  while  Plot  15  has  received  manure  which  has  lain  in  the 
barnyard  during  winter,  exposed  to  the  weather,  and  has  been  hauled  out  and 
spread  on  the  land  in  April,  and  Plot  16  has  received  manure  which  has  been 
taken  directly  from  the  barn  to  the  field,  and  dur-ing  later  years  spread  early  in 
the  winter  and  allowed  to  lie  until  spring  when  all  is  plowed  under  together. 

TABLE   2 — FoURTEEN-YEAR   AvERAGE   YiELDS    OF   CrOPS    GrOWN    in   3-YEAR   ROTATION, 

Yields   and  Values   Per   Acre. 


Plot  14 
Untreated. 

Plot  15 
Manured. 

Plot  16 
Manured. 

Plot  17 
Untreated. 

C"'rn  .  bushels 

30.5 
10.7 
2165. 

50.6 
20.1 
30^0. 

57.7- 
211.6 
3769. 

35.9 

W'^e-t,   bushels    

11.2 

CiO ,  er,    pounds  hay 

2437 

Average  annual  value 

$ia.io 

$18.54 
7.36 
2.75 

$21.13 
9.55 
3.20 

$10.58 

Averacje  annual  gain  per  acre 

Averse e  annual  gain  per  ton  manure.. 

Plot  4 
Untreated. 

Plot  5 
Manured. 

Plot  6 
Manured. 

Plot  7 
Untreated. 

Corn     bushels         

45.3 
10.3 
2295. 

66.0 
20.4 
3236. 

67.5 
20.6 
3557. 

52.3 

Wheat     bushels       

10.1 

Clover     pounds  hay   

2292. 

$11.33 

$23.17 

11.04 

4.13 

$2'5.00 

13.35 

5.00 

$10.86 

Average  annual  gain  per  acre 

Average  annual  gain  per  ton  manure.. 

Table  2  gives  some  of  the  results  of  this  test,  and  shows  that  in  this  test 
the  untreated  yields  have  been  practically  the  same  as  in  the  one  previously 
described.  The  total  annual  value  on  Plot  14  has  amounted  to  $11.19,  while  that 
on  Plot  17,  also  unmanured,  has  amounted  to  $12.58,  thus  showing  a  slightly 
greater  irregularity  between  the  untreated  pbts  than  in  the  other  experiment. 
Compared  with  these  values  the  crops  grown  on  Plot  15  under  yard  manure  have 
given  an  average  value  of  $18.54,  and  those  on  Plot  16  under  fresh  manure,  of 
$21.13,  leaving  an  annual  gain  per  acre  for  the  yard  manure  of  $7.35,  and  for  the 
fresh  manure  of  $9.55,  or  $2.75  for  each  ton  of  yard  manure,  and  $3.20  for  each 
ton  of  fresh  manure.  On  Plots  5  and  6  in  this  test  the  same  quantities  of  the 
same  kinds  of  manure  have  been  used,  with  the  difference  that  this  manure  has 
been  dusted  with  acid  phosphate  before  application  to  the  land,  using  the  phos- 
phate at  the  rate  of  40  pounds  to  the  ton  of  manure,  the  phosphate  being  thor- 
oughly mixed  with  the  manure  before  tlie  latter  has  been  applied  to  the  land. 

Plots  4  and  7,  it  will  be  observed,  have  yielded  a  value  of  $11.33,  and  $10.85, 
or  practically  $11  per  acre;  while  Plot  5  has  given  a  total  value  of  $23.17  and 


34  ADDRESSES 

Plot  6  of  $25.  After  deducting  the  cost  of  the  phosphate  the  net  gain  per  acre 
in  this  case  has  been  $4.13  for  each  ton  of  yard  manure,  and  $5.00  for  each  ton 
of  fresh  manure,  using  the  valuations  previously  employed. 

These  experiments  have  been  made  on  small  plots  of  land  and  the  question 
has  been  raised  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  obtain  such  yields  on  large  fields. 
In  order  to  test  this  matter  an  experiment  was  begun  eight  years  ago  on  four 
ten-acre  fields  which  have  been  growing  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  clover  in  a  4-year 
rotation  over  the  same  period  as  the  fertilizer  experiment  first  described.  The 
soil  lies  on  the  same  formation,  and  probably  originally  with  almost  identical 
natural  fertility,  but  the  farm  on  which  this  experiment  is  located  had  been 
better  handled  than  the  other,  and  it  came  to  us  in  a  somewhat  higher  condition. 

In  the  treatment  of  these  fields  we  have  aimed  to  combine  the  lessons 
learned  from  the  small  plots,  and  our  system  has  been  to  apply  to  the  clover  sod 
during  fall  and  winter  a  dressing  of  about  8  to  10  tons  of  manure  per  acre,  the 
manure  being  reenforced  by  phosphate  during  accumulation,  the  phosphate  being 
used  either  in  the  form  of  acid  phosphate,  or  raw  phosphate  rock,  at  the  rate  of 
about  40  pounds  per  ton  of  manure,  or  one  pound  per  1,000-pound  animal  per 
day.  The  manure  has  been  plowed  under  in  the  spring  and  the  land  dressed  with 
lime,  our  experiments  having  shown  that  the  use  of  lime  on  this  land  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  growth  of  clover  as  well  as  to  the  best  yields  of  other 
crops.  The  lime  has  been  used  at  the  rate  of  one  ton  of  quicklime  or  two  tons 
of  ground  limestone  per  acre,  the  ground  limestone  being  used  during  recent 
years.  The  oats  has  received  no  treatment,  but  the  wheat  has  received  400 
pounds  per  acre  of  a  fertilizer  similar  in  composition  to  the  one  used  on  Plot 
17  in  the  experiment  first  described.  The  outcome  has  been  an  8-year  average 
yield  of  corn  of  77  bushels  per  acre,  followed  by  60  bushels  of  oats,  36  bushels  of 
wheat  and  nearly  three  tons  and  a  half  of  clover  hay,  yields  probably  greater  than 
would  have  been  attained  had  the  land  been  treated  like  that  on  the  first  farm,  by 
about  47  bushels  of  corn,  28  of  oats,  23  of  wheat  and  two  and  one-third  tons  of 
hay.  The  annual  value  of  this  increase  has  amounted  to  $18  per  acre,  the  cost  of 
liming  and  fertilizing  has  amounted  to  $3.50  annually,  or  $14  for  every  four- 
year  rotation.  The  net  gain  per  acre  has  therefore  been  over  $14,  after  paying 
for  the  lime  and  fertilizer,  a  gain  equivalent  to  more  than  $5.00  for  each  ton  of 
manure.  This  outcome  shows  that  we  have  been  able  to  secure  very  materially 
better  results  on  these  10-acre  fields  than  we  have  reached  on  the  small  plots 
in  our  special  tests,  and  the  reason  is  simply  this  —  that  in  our  plot  work  each 
plot  is  set  to  answer  one  question  only,  whereas  in  this  field  work  we  have  com- 
bined the  answers  from  a  multitude  of  plots  and  put  them  into  practice  in  general 
field  culture. 

I  wish  to  call  special  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  this  field  work  our  8-year 
average  of  wheat  is  far  ahead  of  that  of  the  general  average  of  any  of  the 
European  countries  named.  This  average  has  been  attained  on  land  that  is  not 
above  the  average  of  the  county  in  which  the  farm  is  located,  in  natural  fertility, 
and  I  believe  there  is  no  sound  reason  why  an  average  closely  approaching  this 
may  not  be  attained  over  a  large  portion  of  Ohio.  Of  course  this  yield  is 
obtained  on  land  that  has  been  thoroughly  drained  and  subjected  to  systematic 
rotation  of  crops,  as  well  as  to  a  treatment  planned  and  executed  in  the  light  of 
modern  science;  but  the  methods  by  which  it  has  been  obtained  are  applicable 
to  every  farm  in  Ohio,  and  capable  of  being  employed  by  every  farmer,  and 
there  are  farmers  over  the  state  who  are  beginning  to  put  these  methods  into 
practice. 


ANNUAL   MEETING   OHIO    STATE   BOARD   OF   AGRICULTURE.  85 

As  I  have  already  said,  each  of  the  acres  which  is  giving  us  30  bushels  of 
corn  and  10  to  13  bushels  of  wheat  is  receiving  just  as  much  labor  in  the  way  of 
drainage  and  cultivation,  and  just  as  much  seed,  as  the  acre  which  is  giving  us 
77  bushels  of  corn  and  36  bushels  of  wheat.  The  only  difference  between  the  two 
is  in  the  manuring  and  fertilizing;  or  in  other  words,  the  only  difference  is  in 
the  amount  of  intelligent  thought  given  to  the  work. 


.1  --^^  -^ 


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